Kevin De Bruyne made his return to action for Manchester City in their 5-0 success against Huddersfield Town – their FA Cup third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium.
The Belgium international came off the bench with 30 minutes left in the game in what was his first competitive football since he picked up an injury on the opening day of the Premier League season.
Guess who’s back?! pic.twitter.com/WifHFPMP15
— Kevin De Bruyne (@KevinDeBruyne) January 7, 2024
The two-time PFA Player of the Year can give Pep Guardiola’s side a huge boost in the second half of the campaign as they bid to win a fourth consecutive Premier League title.
City’s Form Took a Dip at Back End Of 2023
Although Manchester City are nicely placed this season, they did go four consecutive games with a win in the Premier League between November and December, which is rare for the champions.
They are now 4/5 in the football odds to defend their crown. Liverpool are currently second best at 15/8 in the Premier League 2023/24 winner odds and they look to be the strongest challengers to Guardiola’s side this season.
Mo Salah has produced some spectacular performances and, once again, earned the spot as the Merseyside club’s star player.
Fans will be hoping De Bruyne can pull off a similar calibre whilst readjusting to the weight of the Cityzens shirt.
It’s not just goals and assists that De Bruyne will bring to his team: his experience will be invaluable.
He’s played over 350 games for the club now and has won five Premier League titles.
If the championship race becomes close in the final games of the season, he’ll be able to handle the pressure that comes with the crunch fixtures.
Champions League Set to Return in February
De Bruyne hasn’t played any Champions League football this season, but City were able to progress safely through to the last 16 of the premier European competition without his services.
He should be fully fit for their two-legged tie against Copenhagen in February.
Kevin De Bruyne has scored 11 of his 14 UCL goals for Manchester City in the knockout stages.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 9, 2023
His 11 KO stage goals are the most by any City player in the Champions League history. pic.twitter.com/ecEGfzOZXY
The Belgian played 10 games in the Champions League last season and scored twice in those games.
In addition, the City midfielder was nominated for the UEFA Player of the Year award.
Unfortunately for him, he was injured in the Champions League final against Inter Milan, so he had to come off 36 minutes into that game.
European Champions Also Likely to Be On De Bruyne’s Mind
In what is set to be a big year for De Bruyne, he’ll also be relishing the opportunity to play for his country at the European Championship this summer.
The upcoming tournament will be the last chance for Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’ to win some silverware.
Belgium is fourth in the FIFA world rankings, behind Argentina, France and England respectively.
De Bruyne’s side reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2020 but were beaten by the eventual winners, Italy.
They hope to perform much better than they did at the World Cup in 2022, as they were eliminated in the group stages of that event in Qatar.
Hopefully, De Bruyne can stay injury-free in 2024, which will give him a great chance of shining once again on the pitch for club and country.
Header image by jorono on Pixabay
