Kevin De Bruyne has helped Manchester City to beat Chelsea 1-0 with a 70th-minute goal. The win means that City are now 13 points clear of second-placed Chelsea and 14 points clear of 3rd placed Liverpool.
The game was another bitter payback from Kevin De Bruyne to Chelsea, a club that signed the Belgian on January 31, 2012, from KRC Genk for €8 million.
Then, De Bruyne was referred to as Chelsea’s flop as he had a frustrating spell at the London-based club until Chelsea had to send him back to Genk on loan.
Afterward, the Premier League club had to sell him to a German club VfL Wolfsburg for €22 million on January 18, 2014. A year later, Manchester City bought him for €76 million on August 30, 2015. Since then, the 30-year-old Belgian attacking midfielder has been unstoppable.
In the over three years he spent at Chelsea, Kevin De Bruyne managed to make just 9 appearances in all competitions in which he scored a goal. When he went to VfL Wolfsburg, the Belgian midfielder played 73 times in which he scored 20 goals and provided 37 assists.
Since 2015 that he has been playing for Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne has played 286 games in which he scored 74 goals and provided 110 assists.
Currently, the attacking midfielder is regarded as one of the best players in the Premier League and one of the best midfielders in the world.
His 70th-minute goal against Chelsea earlier today, January 15, 2022, is Kevin De Bruyne’s 7th goal in all competitions this season. He has provided 3 assists in 24 games so far this season.
World class from @DeBruyneKev#mcfc #mancity pic.twitter.com/8pAhM0zmtE
— The Manchester is BLUE show (@manchesterisB) January 15, 2022
After Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium, the coach of Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel stressed that his team deserved a draw even though all the stats favored Manchester City.
For instance, Manchester City enjoyed 56 percent of the ball possession, had 11 shots, 6 of which were on target. While Chelsea had just 44 percent of the ball possession, with just four shots, one of which was on target.
“The result is disappointing, yes, but this can happen when you play at City. I think we deserved a draw, we defended very well, didn’t concede many big chances. There was one in the first half from a big mistake from us,” coach Tuchel told BT Sport.
“Performance-wise was OK. Commitment-wise I’m absolutely OK with the performance, especially given we had to change our back three. We deserved a draw, it would have been a fair result, but we don’t have it. We have won games like this against City, that’s the way it is.
“We had eight or nine offensive transitions [in the first half] and zero touches in the box. That was a big problem today, offensive-wise, the performance of the front players. That was down to a lack of precision, timing, and composure. At a level like this, we lost too many balls too easily.
“[Was Lukaku getting enough service?] Sometimes he needs to do the service. He’s included, he had many ball losses without any pressure and in very promising circumstances. He had a huge chance. He is included, we want to serve him but he is part of the team.
“The performance upfront, we can do much, much better and we need to do better.
“[Is the title race over?] It is not my question to answer. We will never give up, but if City keeps on winning every game, nobody can catch them.”
