by Kevin De Bruyne: a peerless destroyer on the pitch with a neat epigram to strike fear into his opponents. After scoring in the 10th minute of Manchester City’s 3-1 win in Copenhagen on Tuesday and then setting up goals for Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, the Belgian offered the following: “I feel fine. I still need a few more games and [more] minute. I didn’t play 90 minutes because [this] and the Brentford game [last Monday] for almost a year. I’m going there, feeling good, and the level is pretty good at the moment, so I’m happy.”
The morale of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and all those who lay claim to City’s Champions League throne may rise when De Bruyne hears that the best is yet to come from him after a five-month layoff. So, too, Arsenal and Liverpool, who hope to prevent Pep Guardiola’s side from collecting the record fourth Premier League crown in a row.
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Even at his rare standard, De Bruyne was in unstoppable form against the Danish champions. His contribution took him to 21 goals in 22 Champions League games; the basic story was De Bruyne shredding Copenhagen at will in an all-action display of perpetual motion.
From a nominal midfield action, the 32-year-old flitted into wide zones on both sides, fell out for quick attacks, or surged forward, as when he beat Kamil Grabara from the right with a coolly stroked finish.
Voted player of the match at Parken, De Bruyne is just seven appearances into his recovery from the serious hamstring injury he suffered 23 minutes into the season opener at Burnley. He has scored twice and assisted seven times this season.
Guardiola has no desire to throw bouquets at his players but even he was delighted with De Bruyne’s display in Copenhagen. “Kevin De Bruyne is getting better, like a good wine,” the City manager. “Maybe it’s Brunello di Montalcino or Sassicaia.”
Bottles of either can cost four figures. Guardiola is so involved in falling fine vino tinto as it is with De Bruyne’s talent. The Catalan can see, too, the silver lining of the enforced break. “He’s back very fresh in body but also in mind,” he said. “His offense is always something special, Kevin is special.”
How special is an interesting debate. With Lionel Messi now at Inter Miami, is there a better footballer in Europe? Cases can be made for Mohamed Salah, Vinícius Jr, De Bruyne’s team-mate Erling Haaland and a handful of others, but the Belgian’s cocktail is a unique package of play, game mastery, poise and predatory goal-scoring.
On the way to a stop, De Bruyne revealed why he is so strong: “I just want to play well. It’s been five or six months, but I’m happy to be back, helping the team win games and being at my best.” The words suggest a confirmation of his ability that we see visible on the field, where De Bruyne has a calm arrogance to expect to shape most competitions.
De Bruyne was a rage as a youth player at Gent and his fiery side remains. Guardiola, in his own prudent way, tries to stomp it from time to time. “We know how we are as people. The way we sometimes react in football – sometimes he says he wants to make me angry,” said De Bruyne. “In recent years I have been calm but sometimes he tries to make me angry.
Related: Silva and Foden give Manchester City control with victory in Copenhagen
“I think when I call him back sometimes, he doesn’t mind. There’s never any bad intentions, it’s part of the game and it happens in football anyway with the players and the team.”
As with Messi at Barcelona, De Bruyne is Guardiola’s main lieutenant at City. “We know each other well,” said the player. “We’ve been together for seven, eight years now. We all want to win, and we all want to do the best. Football is an emotion – that’s nice. People want to see emotions – we don’t want to be robots. There are always cameras about us but it’s part of life and football and I hope that never happens.”
City face Chelsea on Saturday looking to close the gap on leaders Liverpool. They sit two points behind Jürgen Klopp’s side with a game in hand. The champions have 15 more matches in their bid to retain their title. De Bruyne will be crucial, especially in March, a month that could define City’s tilt at the double pole, given that they face Manchester United, Copenhagen in the last 16, Liverpool, Brighton and Arsenal in the that period.
The good news for City is that their star man believes he has yet to reach his best form – which, for all contenders, can only be the worst case scenario.
