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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Aside from Pep Guardiola pulling the ball down with a deft touch that provided a brief glimpse of his illustrious past as a silky Barcelona midfielder, the biggest cheers at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday were reserved for Kevin De Bruyne. It happened first when he began to warm up, then again when he removed his tracksuit, and finally when he strode out to make his first appearance in a Manchester City shirt in 150 days.
Rúben Dias immediately ran over to pass on the captain’s armband, while City’s social media accounts posted a video of the moment with the caption, “Return of the king.”
Even at City, a team full of treble-winning superstars, De Bruyne is on a different level.
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City’s FA Cup third round opponents Huddersfield Town were already beaten when he made his entrance early in the second half, but within 17 minutes of the 32-year-old stepping onto the pitch, the 2-0 scoreline had become 5-0.
The highlight was one of his characteristic driving runs from midfield, picking up the ball in the centre circle, exchanging passes with Oscar Bobb on the edge of the penalty area, followed by the inevitable assist. Good players would have stood up their cross to Matheus Nunes at the back post, but De Bruyne is better than that — in fact, he was perhaps the only person in the stadium to spot Jérémy Doku hanging back while the Huddersfield defence sprinted back toward their goal line.
As is often the case with De Bruyne, the execution matched the vision, and Doku was presented with a relatively simple chance to score. He did, and Erling Haaland, watching from the bench, was moved to shoot up from his seat and violently shake the City staff member unfortunate enough to be sitting directly in front of him.
Haaland is nearing his own return from injury, and his reaction felt like that of a striker imagining that he will soon be the beneficiary of the Belgium international’s brilliance.
De Bruyne’s comeback is good news for Haaland, Guardiola and City, but probably bad news for everyone else. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was only half joking when he said it had caused “the whole country to shake.” It certainly feels like a seismic moment in the title race.
De Bruyne expects to be back on the bench when City travel to Newcastle United for Saturday’s Premier League fixture, but Guardiola won’t be able to restrain him much longer.
Speaking after the victory over Huddersfield, Guardiola described his captain as a player with that rare ability to win matches on his own. Even in a squad as talented as this one, his absence has left a void no one else can fill.
It says everything about De Bruyne’s relentless creativity that no player in Europe’s top five leagues has more assists since the start of last season, even though his involvement in the current campaign totals just 82 minutes. Two more in the Premier League and he’ll stand alone in third on the competition’s list behind Ryan Giggs and Cesc Fabregas.
For context, Giggs registered 162 Premier League assists in 632 appearances with Manchester United, and Fabregas had 111 in 350 games for Arsenal and Chelsea. De Bruyne is on 102 (level with Frank Lampard and one behind Wayne Rooney), but he’s done it in just 240 appearances — a rate of one every 2.4 games.
Guardiola has spoken of De Bruyne being able to solve some of the “problems” City have had in the first half of the season, namely finding “runners” like Haaland, Nunes, Doku and Phil Foden. Once fully fit, De Bruyne will occupy his usual slot in the right channel and Guardiola has raised the possibility of pairing him with Foden, who has often played out wide, but has moved in-field during De Bruyne’s absence.
“They are different players, but it’s true that in the final third, in the decisive moments, both are incredible,” Guardiola said. “Phil is playing unbelievably lately in that position, in the threats, and he feels comfortable.
“In certain games, of course we can play both together in that position, in the pocket, in the middle, close to the box. In certain other games, for the stability, maybe not. So we have to see day by day.”
Arsenal are heading into the second half of the season on a run of three straight defeats, while Liverpool are having to deal with the loss of Mohamed Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations and Trent Alexander-Arnold to a knee ligament tear.
City, meanwhile, have won five in a row and on Sunday welcomed back their most effective playmaker. Haaland could be back in the squad at St. James’ Park this weekend.
After raving about De Bruyne’s cameo against Huddersfield, Guardiola was asked for his thoughts ahead of the business end of the campaign, with the City manager sharing only that — once again — his team “are there.” It was a simple, noncommittal answer, but he delivered with a faint smile that suggested he feels momentum could be about to shift in his favour.
De Bruyne is back, and the Premier League is shaking.