London [United Kingdom], January 14 (ANI): Belgium international Kevin de Bruyne guided his side, Manchester City, to a 3-2 victory over Newcastle United in the Premier League fixture on Saturday.
The attacking midfielder was playing his first match of the season and he came as a substitute for Bernardo Silva (who scored the first goal of the match as well as for City) in the 69th minute of the game. He made his comeback after recovering from a hamstring injury that he suffered on the opening day of the season.
De Bruyne scored the goal just four minutes and 34 seconds after his arrival on the pitch and levelled the score line to 2-2. In the end (90+1), the 32-year-old assisted the young Oscar Bobb, which was the winger’s first goal for the senior team.
After the match, Blues manager Pep Guardiola applauded the midfielder on his brilliant comeback.
“I’m so grumpy and upset with Kevin [De Bruyne] because his first touch was a free-kick and he couldn’t score. He’s a special player, a legend. He’s stretching his mind; five months is a long time and hopefully he can help us be there until the end in the second half of the season,” Guardiola was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
Talking about the home side (Newcastle United), they were 0-1 down and took a 2-1 lead with goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon in the 35th and 37th minutes, respectively. They have now lost four straight league matches in the Premier League.
Following the game-changing performance by the experienced midfielder, he expressed his thoughts on his performance and the team’s victory.
“I’ve missed this. I had a big injury and I needed the time off but I worked hard. To come here, to this stadium, in this environment – I think it was more willpower than sharpness,” De Bruyne was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“I know I’m not able to do that for 90 minutes at the moment but I can put in a shift for 20-25 at full pace. I can feel it in my lungs with the cold, but it can’t be any better than this can it?” the player added. (ANI)
