De Bruyne set for first league start
KEVIN de Bruyne is set for his first Premier League start of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday
The Manchester City midfielder gave everyone a reminder of his genius by nonchalantly firing a shot past Leicester keeper Danny Ward to send the Blues on their way to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
But it was in the last round, against Fulham, that the Belgium ace truly showed what City have been missing.
And the fact that the Blues are still tucked in nicely behind unbeaten leaders Liverpool, despite being without a man who is arguably their best player, should be of concern over at Anfield.
De Bruyne’s goal at the King Power was a reminder that he gives another dimension to City’s attack.
Perhaps only Sergio Aguero is capable of scoring that kind of goal on a regular basis - and even the Argentine does not net too many from outside the box these days.
De Bruyne had minimum back-lift and maximum power to drive the ball between a startled Ward and his near post, after a clever shift of feet had opened up the space.
City specialise in walking the ball into the net, even against packed defences.
But De Bruyne’s shooting ability from long range will force teams to re-think what they do.
Sit too deep, and he can punish you with a shot. Push up, and he will pick a perfect pass into the space you have left, for a marauding Aguero or Gabriel Jesus. Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan are all masters of the second of those arts, but do not do the first one anywhere near as well as De Bruyne.
Having said that, the ability to ripple the net from distance is still not the greatest contribution De Bruyne will make to the Blues.
His display in his previous game, the Carabao Cup win over Fulham, was perhaps the best illustration of just how much he has been missed.
That game ended badly, as he chased down another ball in the corner, trying to force the issue even though City were 2-0 up and cruising, and ended up taking the full weight of Timothy Fosu-Mensah on his knee.
But for the 86 minutes he was on the field, De Bruyne was a tour de force. He bullied Fulham’s midfield physically and outplayed them, heading the tackle count with seven, along with three interceptions.
With just four substitute appearances to his name before that night, De Bruyne was like a man possessed, showing why Pep Guardiola once referred to him as his ‘first fighter’ with tireless running and focussed aggression.