SERGIO AND KEV A CLASS APART
<M<IP B@:B# <M<IP >F8C# <M<IP >8D<# Belgian belter having a ball with 4-goal Aguero
KEVIN DE BRUYNE cheekily grabbed the match ball off Sergio Aguero for a moment after Manchester City had put Leicester to the sword.
But the Ballon d’Or is the prize that the Belgian star should really have in his sights if he continues his stunning form this season.
Aguero’s finishing was brutal, instinctive and ruthless as the Argentina striker plundered four goals against the hapless Foxes to hog the limelight.
De Bruyne’s display at the Etihad Stadium was equally as eye-catching, though, and his hat-trick of assists prompted the mischievous ball-snatching antics.
His performances seem to keep getting better and this was one brimming with superb vision and jaw-dropping passes.
Fight
Every week De Bruyne, 26, is presented with a fresh canvas and seems to paint a football masterpiece more spectacular than the previous one, which must now surely place him among the world’s elite.
Since 2008 the Ballon d’Or award has been a straight fight between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with each winning five.
City boss Pep Guardiola reckons if De Bruyne can spearhead the club’s bid for European as well as domestic glory then world football’s top individual award is within his reach.
“No doubt,” said Guardiola. “He is not one game like this. It’s the whole season, every three days, playing that way.
“He knows, and everyone knows, to be there with that award you have to win titles, and titles and titles. Especially one – the Champions League of course.”
Typically modest, De Bruyne preferred to focus on City’s collective efforts, although he did accept it would be “beautiful” to pick up such an accolade.
“I do everything to win titles with the team. What happens after is an extra,” he said.
“I am very pleased with the way everything is going for me. I am playing this way because the team is playing this way.
“It makes it easier for me, it makes it easier for them. At the end, if you get an individual honour it is beautiful.
“I am doing what I have to do. It is something you reflect on after you get something like that.”
Raheem Sterling had put City ahead early on with a tap-in from De Bruyne’s curling cross but Jamie Vardy equalised with a deflected effort after Nicolas Otamendi’s sloppy pass.
Aguero took over after half-time as he scored four times – with an audacious (4-3-3): MANCHESTER CITY Otamendi 5 Ederson 6; Walker 7, 6, Zinchenko 6 (Stones 81), Laporte 9, Fernandinho (Danilo 65); De Bruyne 6; B Silva 7, 7 (Foden 80), Gundogan 8. Subs: Bravo, AGUERO 9, Sterling Kompany, Nmecha, Diaz. Champions UP NEXT: Basel (a), League, tomorrow. Schmeichel LEICESTER (3-5-2): 5, Fuchs 5; 4; Dragovic 6, Maguire 6, Ndidi 6, Silva 6 Albrighton 5, James 6 (Iheanacho (Simpson 46, 5), Chilwell 62, 6), VARDY 62, 6); Diabate 6 (Mahrez Iborra, 7. Subs: Jakupovic, Gray, Benalouane United (h), UP NEXT: Sheffi eld FA Cup, Friday. 7. Referee: Mike Jones England striker YOUR TURN: Which scored a is the last man to have City game? hat-trick in a Leicester-Man chip and a powerful strike from outside the box being the pick of his goals.
One positive for Leicester in the thrashing was the return of Riyad Mahrez, who featured for the first time since his self-imposed exile after a deadline-day move to City collapsed.
Foxes boss Claude Puel admits the mess which followed with the Algeria winger was regrettable but all parties have now buried the hatchet.
“It was surely a mistake, but the most important thing is to look forward,” said Puel.
“The most important thing is we have a fantastic player for the squad, for his club, for the fans.
“The situation, it was difficult for him, it was difficult for us, so it was important to approach this situation with calm and to come back together on the pitch and to wear the colours of this club.”