I’m happy to be put on the spot says De Bruyne
KEVIN DE BRUYNE has volunteered to become Manchester City’s penalty king.
When Kasper Schmeichel superbly blocked Sergio Aguero’s 60th-minute effort – for a Dennis Praet handball – it was City’s fourth consecutive miss from the spot.
It could have cost them dear, but substitute Gabriel Jesus came to the rescue with a neatly taken 80th-minute winner, just minutes after coming on.
Aguero,
Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and
Raheem
Sterling are all penalty failures this term. De Bruyne, below, is an obvious candidate and said he is happy to do it if asked.
He said: “Yeah, why not? I don’t really care. “For me, I think it’s important for strikers to have them because it helps their goals tally. “It doesn’t affect me that much but if they want me to step up, I will.” De Bruyne says the issue is not so much of a problem if you bag the points, adding: “Well, if you win the games, no, but if you lose points, yes. It can happen to everybody, so it’s stupid to blame them.”
Even boss Pep Guardiola admitted: “It’s not normal for the quality we have but, like I said to them, the next one we’re going to score and the taker will be convinced.”
City, with ex-Leicester man Riyad Mahrez pulling the strings, were deserved winners, but Jonny Evans says the Foxes are out to clinch Champions League football next season.
The Foxes are third, and Evans said: “We know it’s going to be a difficult run-in, but it’s one we’re relishing.
“Champions League was the target before the start of the season.”
JOHN FLECK is still coming to terms with life in the fast lane.
And more than a decade after playing Champions League football for Rangers as a teenager, the Sheffield United midfielder, 28, is dreaming of a return European ticket.
But being a key player in a team dining at England’s top table is taking some getting used to.
Take Manchester United v Watford, for example. Rivalry has taken on role reversal. Fleck said: “At the beginning of the season, we’d have wanted United to win whereas it’s different now.” Neal Maupay swiftly levelled Enda Stevens’ home strike to leave Sheffield on 40 points and safety.
Fleck, right, said: “At the start of the season, if anyone had said we’d have 40 points at this stage, we’d have bitten their hand off. It just shows how well we’ve done when we’re in a position where we’re not looking behind. I played in two or three
FChampions League games for Rangers as a sub and it was great at that time.”
Maupay said: “That’s a game we’d have lost a few weeks ago but we showed character, resilience and a desire to defend well. “Maybe in the past, we have tried too hard to win. That may sound strange, but sometimes, during a game, you must recognise you’re not going to win it.That could prove a vital point.”