Manchester City thrashed Bournemouth 4–0 at the Etihad on Saturday.
Kevin De Bruyne, my favourite player, was magnificent.
He scored the first goal and designed the moves for the others.
Pep said, “I think he’s a special player, an outstanding player. He makes everything without the ball, he’s the first fighter. With the ball, he’s clear: he sees absolutely everything, he decides what we have to do at the right moment, every single time. At every chance, he decides the right decision. That’s why he’s a player on another level.”
Every single time! That’s what I was trying to say last season.
Football is a fast-moving game where multiple possibilities arrive and vanish as other possibilities arrive and fade swiftly to reveal further possibilities in a game that, when it’s played like this, is like a kaleidoscope shaken 7 times every 10 seconds.
What De Bruyne sees and measures when Citeh counter-attack at pace is uncanny.
How can he do that?
Because he’s the greatest Belgian footballer of his gifted generation.
Because he can see three-dimensionally, see depth : that ‘s how he can do what he does so beautifully.
When Citeh are counter-attacking like greyhounds out of the traps, his vision and weight of pass are uncanny.
He can select the perfect pass as often as Iniesta in his prime.
He’s way ahead of any creative midfielder I’ve seen in England since Alan Hudson for Chelsea in 1970 and later for Stoke in 1975.
And De Bruyne doesn’t just make goals, he scores them as well.
If he stays fit all season, he could get 40 assists .