On Wednesday night, Manchester City recorded a well-deserved 4-1 win over rivals Arsenal. While City played well as a team, the architect of this victory was Belgium national Kevin De Bruyne. In the match, De Bruyne scored two goals and dished out one assist to guide City to a victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Post-match, the player met with positive reactions from City fans and football pundits. Over the years, De Bruyne has been a crucial player for City. An important part of the midfield, the 31-year-old has looked effortless in controlling the game for City from the center of the park. Against Arsenal on Wednesday, De Bruyne once again did the same.
His performance vs the North Londoners also earned him the praise of former professional footballer Jamie Redknapp. During an interview, Redknapp mentioned that the City midfielder’s IQ and football brain separates him from other players. Redknapp said:
"“It’s tough, I’m going to be talking about family because there’s never going to be a better goalscoring Premier League midfielder than Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard was Roy of the Rovers, Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, all brilliant players.But I just feel with all his attributes, I’ve never seen anyone pass the ball so beautifully. His football IQ, the way he sees gaps and threads through passes with such pinpoint accuracy, I haven’t seen it before. The goals he scores, he’s a beautiful striker of the ball; for me, he’s the greatest…… If you gave him space he’d hit a 30-yard cross-field pass, if you got too tight he’d play little one-twos around you. That’s the same with Gerrard and Lampard. All these players had these attributes that made them great, but Kevin De Bruyne has all of them.His football brain and IQ make him No 1 for me, and hopefully we can find a little bit more about what makes him tick because every young footballer should watch him and the way he plays in midfield.”"
Based on the performances of De Bruyne, many football fans will agree with Redknapp’s assessment. Not only does the Belgian look like one of the best midfielders, but his team Manchester City looks like one of the best teams too. Currently, both De Bruyne and City are having a fantastic season.
Manchester City are on course to win the treble this season
The 22/23 season is turning out to be great for Manchester City. While it seemed difficult for them to win the Premier League at the start of April, the club is now just two points away from league leaders Arsenal. If the North Londoners slip once again, and City continue to dominate, the club will be on course to winning its third consecutive Premier League title.
Even in the FA Cup, City have booked a place in the finals and will face derby rivals Manchester United. Not only that, the Manchester-based team is also in the semi-finals of the league and will face Real Madrid in an encounter awaited by many. If City can give it their best on the pitch, the team could go on and secure its first-ever treble.
Do you think Manchester City will win the treble this season?