UK (Commonwealth) _Following his brace in City’s 4-2 Premier League victory over Crystal Palace, which brought him to a historic 100 goals for the team, Kevin De Bruyne looked back on “a lot of good moments” at the club.
In the Club’s history, the Belgian is only the eighteenth player to score three goals or more. The hosts took the lead early on thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta, but De Bruyne quickly pulled us level. After the interval, Rico Lewis gave us the lead, and Erling Haaland converted De Bruyne’s cross to make it 3-1.
With 20 minutes remaining at Selhurst Park, De Bruyne scored a historic goal, smashing the ball into the net with his left foot from 18 yards out. Yes, it is humorous. “The only thing I want is to score 100 prior to you guys,” he remarked, speaking with Erling [Haaland] and Phil [Foden. “Erling was like 18 behind but he was likely to score that in two games!”
It’s a happy occasion. It indicates that I’ve been a long time here. It portends more happy times ahead for our team. Yes, it has been my home. I arrived while I was essentially still a small child. I’m the senior guy in our squad now, and my three children are growing up fast. Along with the squad, I’ve had a lot of joy and we’ve won several parades and awards.
It’s difficult to put everything into perspective, but I believe that the club and its followers also value all that has occurred. The midfield player also talked about how his first goal of the afternoon was among his greatest ever, gave youngster Lewis a lot of credit, and considered how the club handled giving up the early goal.
The Premier League championship opponents of Manchester City ought to be concerned when Kevin De Bruyne is playing this well. No matter how excellent Liverpool and Arsenal have been, only a bold man would wager on City’s very own “King Kev” winning a historic fourth straight league title.
With two goals against Crystal Palace, including a stunning opening goal, De Bruyne not only brought his total number of City goals in all competitions to 100, but he also helped Erling Haaland, giving the striker a confidence boost at the perfect moment.
De Bruyne demonstrated that he is more than prepared for the run-in by skillfully navigating the game and creating wonderful connections with Jack Grealish repeatedly. It was De Bruyne’s chance to shine at Selhurst Park after he had watched from the sidelines as Phil Foden scored an incredible hat-trick against Aston Villa three days earlier.
When asked if he felt under pressure to produce after Foden’s hat-trick, De Bruyne said, “Yeah, these guys keep me on my toes.” I don’t think my place will just be handed to me. I won’t play if I don’t give it my all. Although I think Phil Foden deserves it after his incredible season, it makes me cautious.
All I strive to do on the pitch is set a better example for others to follow. I strive to show on the field, but I won’t be the one to provide advice to others on how to live. Phil [Foden] and I have been playing together for seven or eight years now, so I don’t think of him as a youthful player anymore. He is a well-known superstar on our group. He truly is incredible.
With a Champions League match against Real Madrid on Tuesday night, Pep Guardiola did not need to use Foden at all, while Bernardo Silva was only required when stoppage time was added. Liverpool and Arsenal had some hope for 45 minutes against Palace, but by the end of the game, there were worrying indications that City could be preparing to hammer through the rest of their league schedule.
Grealish contributed to three of City’s goals, including Rico Lewis’ second league goal for the team, which he had already scored in the same game versus Palace this season. Not everything went as planned for City, whose careless defending allowed Palace to score goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and replacement Odsonne Edouard. Jordan Ayew also had the opportunity to punish the home team by hitting the crossbar.
However, since the beginning of December, City has won all of its games and has scored eight goals in two, with Foden and De Bruyne taking turns to deliver game-winning performances.
