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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his delight with midfielder Kevin De Bruyne making his long-awaited return from injury.
De Bruyne played just 23 minutes of City's 2023-24 Premier League opener, a 3-0 win away to Burnley, in August last year before injuring his hamstring. The Belgian went onto miss nearly five months of action before making his comeback in their FA Cup third-round clash against Huddersfield Town on Sunday, January 7.
He came of the bench in the 57th minute with his team 2-0 up at the Etihad Stadium, replacing goalscorer Julian Alvarez. Just 17 minutes later, De Bruyne set up Jeremy Doku for the final goal of Manchester City's 5-0 thumping of the Championship outfit with a delightful dinked pass from the right wing.
Speaking after the game, Guardiola praised the talismanic midfielder and called him a match-winner, saying (as quoted by ESPN):
"He played really good minutes. He needs to accumulate training sessions more than games. We are incredibly delighted he is back. Kevin helps to win games and there are few in the world. Win games; Kevin, [Erling] Haaland, these guys win games.
"We have known each other for a long time. He has a special special ability to do something that is not easy to find. With all the runners we have now, to have a guy who can find these passes, Kevin is exceptional, he is unique; the quality of the assist for the Jeremy goal."
In his time on the pitch, De Bruyne had 46 touches and completed 28 of his 35 pass attempts (80% accuracy). He recorded a key pass and a shot (off-target), while winning a foul and one of his two duels.
Prior to his arrival, Phil Foden had put Manchester City 1-0 up in the 33rd minute before Alvarez doubled their lead just four minutes later. Just a minute after De Bruyne came on, Ben Jackson's own-goal put the Citizens 3-0 up.
Foden added his second and City's fourth in the 65th minute before Doku rounded out the scoring.
Kevin De Bruyne reacts on social media following comeback in Manchester City win
After finally making his return to action, Kevin De Bruyne took to X (formerly Twitter) to post a message. The Manchester City midfielder shared two images of him in action against Huddersfield Town with the caption:
"Guess who’s back?!"
De Bruyne and City now have nearly a week off before they return to Premier League action on Saturday, January 13, when they visit Newcastle United. The Magpies will enter that game on the back of a 3-0 Tyne-Wear derby win over Sunderland in the third round of the FA Cup.
