Pep Guardiola said he is “delighted” that captain Kevin De Bruyne is back after more than five months on the sidelines due to injury after the midfielder recorded an assist in their comeback 5-0 win over Huddersfield on Sunday.
It took just 17 minutes for De Bruyne to mark Jérémy Doku with a precise cross after coming on as a second-half substitute.
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It was the 32-year-old’s first appearance since September after undergoing surgery to correct a hamstring problem.
“He played very good minutes,” Guardiola said. “He needs to accumulate more training sessions than games. We are incredibly happy that he has returned. Kevin helps win games and there are few in the world. He wins games; Kevin, [Erling] Haaland, these guys win games.”
De Bruyne, in the 57th minute, was involved in Phil Foden’s second goal of the game in the 65th minute and then crossed for Doku, also back from injury, to score with a first shot to make it 5-0 against the team. of the championship. Huddersfield.
Guardiola insisted afterwards that City’s chances of winning trophies this season should not depend on De Bruyne’s return, but admitted his return ahead of the second half of the campaign is a huge boost.
“Kevin is not going to solve the problems we have if we are not all together,” Guardiola said.
“I know he can handle the pressure, but it’s not fair to him. We’ve known each other for a long time. He has a knack for doing something that’s not easy to find. With all the running backs we have now, I have a guy who can find these passes, Kevin is exceptional, he is unique; the quality of the assist for Jeremy’s goal.
The only drawback to the comfortable victory for Guardiola was the injury to Manuel Akanji.
The defender was substituted in the 17th minute after a tough tackle by young Alex Matos, on loan at Chelsea. Bernardo Silva and Kalvin Phillips missed the game due to illness.
