The significant impact of Kevin De Bruyne’s return
At the start of the 2023/24 season, Manchester City had a couple of matches with four draws and three defeats and also their victory in the FIFA Club World Cup provided a huge motivation for the team, resulting in seven satisfactory results in their next matches. They beat Huddersfield 5–0 in the fifth round, Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup; Newcastle 3–2, Burnley 3–1, Brentford 3–1, and Everton 2–0 in the Premier League; and Copenhagen 3–1 in the Champions League.
Several players returned to play, including Kevin De Bruyne after a five-month recovery, John Stones that finally able to play full-time, and Erling Haaland after approximately two months of recovery. Speaking of the player’s comeback, Kevin De Bruyne surely made a huge impact on the squad, especially how Pep Guardiola finally gained back his best tactic to bring out the midfield role as the engine for the squad.
To better understand Kevin De Bruyne’s performance, let’s revisit the moment he first noticed something was wrong with his leg. According to a documentary on Man City’s YouTube page, De Bruyne began to feel discomfort during the second leg of the Champions League Quarter Final against Bayern Munich on April 19, 2023. At first, he thought that he could continue playing for the next few matches until the end of the season, which was only two months away. However, his physiotherapist asked him about his decision to continue playing as usual or whether there would be certain restrictions due to his hamstring condition. Kevin chooses that he will still be able to play for the next few matches with his hamstring condition which is not okay.
De Bruyne eventually underwent some tests, and it was true that he had to start maintaining his condition so that the injury to his leg didn’t get worse. However, as we know as well that the last 2022/23 season, was one of the important seasons that Kevin didn’t want to miss. Instead of restraining himself, he prefers to keep playing but at a level and situation that he is capable of at the time. De Bruyne is still adamant that he will help City’s squad to be what they need him to be and that continues until the remaining games leading up to the final one, the Champions League Final. It was not something Kevin De Bruyne wanted to have to stop his game in the 20th minute of the Champions League Final, as he knew as well, that his hamstring at that time was no longer tolerable for him to continue playing, especially since he had also experienced something similar in the Champions League final in 2021. Everyone was almost frantic, from players, and managers, to City’s supporters at that time, but in the end, everything was still paid off with Manchester City’s success in winning the league for the first time.
Kevin De Bruyne worked himself quite hard during the 2024 pre-season to at least return to the starting line-up. However, again, no matter how hard he tries to stay afloat with his hamstring condition which has started to flare up frequently, he inevitably has to undergo surgery on his hamstring and must recover more or less until the beginning of 2024. He was also quoted in his documentary as saying that he was frustrated at not being able to keep playing, but he also realized that resting physically and even mentally for a long time was not a bad thing. Rather than dwelling on his inability to play football, he used his recovery time to maximize all the things he had never done before due to the hectic schedule he had during his 15 years of playing football.
Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the pitch has been the game-changer that City fans have been longing for. The midfield has become creative once again and Pep Guardiola no longer has to assign extra tasks to other players to fill the void in the middle of the pitch in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne. Despite his long injury layoff, his passing accuracy has not diminished, and he still knows whom and when to pass to, as his vision remains as sharp as ever. This has been evident in the last eight games played by De Bruyne this season. As shown in his performance statistics for this season, Kevin De Bruyne still provides big chances and assists in almost every game he plays. Additionally, for his first three matches this season, Kevin only played approximately 20–30 minutes, but he has been able to provide goals and assists and of course some chances that immediately improve the team’s performance on the field.
The run of victories since Kevin De Bruyne’s return is well deserved, as City was overmatched in several games prior to his return, and De Bruyne’s presence was needed in some games where no other City player was able to cover. He is a provider in almost everything on the pitch, not only providing key passes that can result in goal opportunities but also in terms of taking over the possession to keep the attacking system alive during the match. Plus, his Premier League debut after injury against Newcastle, was a truly outstanding performance, especially for a player who had just returned from a lengthy injury lay-off and only played around 21 minutes. It can be seen that Kevin’s entry in the 70th minute could add a goal for City as well as a brilliant assist right at the end, enabling a dramatic comeback. Not an easy opponent, considering Newcastle had led by 2 goals in the first half and they were also still aggressively counterattacking City. De Bruyne’s efficient passing during those 20 minutes could immediately turn things around and somehow only Kevin De Bruyne could have achieved this.
Kevin De Bruyne successfully revived the long-dead midfield with his creativity, creating efficient passes that had not been seen in a long time. He was able to turn things around by taking over ball possession, controlling the midfield, and providing intake to the forwards. Additionally, he was able to make ball recoveries in case of a counterattack from the opponent. De Bruyne is truly Manchester City’s best assister and a senior leader in his own right. He’s Kevin De Bruyne.
