Pep Guardiola Salutes Kevin De Bruyne Masterclass

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lauded midfielder Kevin De Bruyne after the midfielder’s electrifying performance took his side a step closer to retaining the Premier League title. Manchester City moved three points clear of second-placed Liverpool thanks to a 5-1 win at Wolves. Kevin De Bruyne scored four sublime goals to have the City fans dreaming again. 

De Bruyne Hits four!

De Bruyne netted a left-footed hat-trick inside the first 24 minutes to send City on their way to claiming all three points. He then added a fourth on the hour mark before Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring with six minutes remaining. Leander Dendoncker had equalised for Wolves. He has been in excellent form in recent weeks and his goals and assists have truly captivated. Manchester City now need just 4 points from their remaining two games to claim a 4th title in five years. 

Guardiola was full of praise for De Bruyne, who now has a personal best of 19 goals for the season.

“He has been outstanding for the last two to three months in the Premier League and in the Champions League as well,” said Guardiola.

“He has been our key man in the last part of the season.

“It’s not just what he creates and the goals. He helps us a lot. I am happy because Kevin always has the sense for an assist because he is so generous and is always thinking what is best for the team but we always try to push him to win games and score goals.  

“I think this is the most prolific year in this sense.”

De Bruyne himself joked that he should have scored five goals.

He added: “When you score four goals it is always something special. It should have been five to be honest but I think we played well. 

“We could have scored even more and to do that against a Wolves team who are defensively sound was really impressive.”

He’s been excellent since the start of 2022. Goals and assists have come by the bucket load. He seems to be relishing a more advanced role and making runs into the box to finish off moves. His recent performances should make this year’s player of the season a two horse race. Liverpool’s Mo Salah seems to be running away with it but Man City’s key man is surely making a case for himself.