[골닷컴] Reporter Kim Hyun-min = Manchester City (hereafter, Manchester City) attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne scored a multi-goal in the match against Leeds United to announce the return of the ace, who had a hard time this season due to injury and corona virus.
Manchester City defeated Leeds 7-0 in the 17th round of the Premier League (PL) of the 2021/22 season held at the home of the Etihad Stadium. At the same time, Manchester City maintained the top spot (13 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, 41 points) with 7 consecutive PL wins. At the center of it all was De Bruyne.
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Who is De Bruyne? Since joining Manchester City in 2015, he has been the ace of the team. In particular, from the 2019/20 season to the last season, he received the honor of being proudly selected as the ‘PFA Player’s Player of the Season’ for two consecutive seasons.
However, he suffered a muscle injury at the end of last season and made it to the Champions League final against Chelsea while still not recovering. The problem is that Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger suffered a face injury during the match. Although recovery from injury was essential, he was overbearing and threw a precipitation to participate in Euro 2020 as a member of the Belgian national team.
He suffered an ankle injury at the beginning of this season and missed three games, and then on November 19, he tested positive for coronavirus and had to miss four games. Due to the overlapping of bad news, he has continued to score poorly in nine official tournaments, including the last five PL games, in an unusual condition.
However, he finally succeeded in restoring his former performance against Leeds. In the 31st minute, he scored Rodri’s through pass with an elaborate left-footed non-stop shot, scoring his first goal in 10 official games, including 6 PL matches. Then, in the 61st minute, he received a pass from Ilkai Gundogan (played as a substitute for Silva at the start of the second half) and scored an additional goal with a powerful right-footed shot from long range. It is the first time he has scored multiple goals in nine months since the match against Southampton on March 10, 2021.
Goals aren’t everything. He attempted the most nine shots of any player in this game, and he also had the most shots on target with four. Chance-making was in second place after Forden (5 times) with 4 times. It is Bruiner who exercised high influence throughout the attack by successfully breaking through the dribble twice.
The most encouraging part is that he had a 100% win rate for the ball, and he finished second in the team in activity (11.56 km) and sprint (20 innings). This means that his physical condition has finally returned to normal.
Manchester City are currently in a three-on-three match against Liverpool and Chelsea for the top spot in the PL. Above all, Manchester City’s biggest goal is to win the Champions League, which they have never achieved. For this to happen, De Bruyne needs to be in good shape at key moments. De Bruyne is the ace of Man City after all.
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