De Bruyne’s 100 City goals: Season by season | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne has reached the latest landmark of a legendary Manchester City career.

The Belgian is the 18th man to score 100 times for City after his two magnificent strikes against Crystal Palace.

Known primarily as a creator of opportunities and widely regarded as one of the best playmakers in the Premier League’s history, De Bruyne has chipped in with many vital goals of his own.

Equally capable of powerful strikes from range and deft finishes in and around the box, there are few players who opposition goalkeepers fear seeing stepping on to the ball to shoot.

With 15 major honours to his name in eight and a half seasons at the Club, the 32-year-old’s status as a legend of the Club is assured.

Here we’ll run through De Bruyne’s contributions in terms of goals during his City stint to date…

2015/16

De Bruyne arrived at City after four games of the new Premier League campaign as the reigning Bundesliga Player of the Year.

He’d scored 16 goals in 51 games for Wolfsburg in 2014/15 so was no stranger to finding the back of the net at all.

WATCH: Kevin De Bruyne: My first season

He immediately improved on that ratio with 16 goals in 41 appearances for City in 2015/16 – almost one strike every other game.

Seven of those came in the Premier League including three in his first four appearances.

However, it was in the Champions League quarter-finals where he scored the goals that are most remembered from this campaign.

City reached the last four for the first time in our history thanks to a 3-2 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain, with De Bruyne scoring in each leg.

He opened the scoring in Paris as we drew 2-2 before a beautiful curled finish proved the only strike of the game at the Etihad six days later.

Goals: 16 (Seven in the Premier League, five in the Carabao Cup, three in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup)

2016/17

Pep Guardiola arrived and instantly affirmed that De Bruyne would be one of his star players.

However, with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and David Silva also key elements of his side, De Bruyne did not play quite as advanced as we’ve become used to in recent campaigns.

That led to seven strikes in 49 appearances as we finished third in the Premier League and were eliminated from the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage.

WATCH: Kevin De Bruyne: Who assisted me?

Instead he was much more productive in terms of setting team-mates up, claiming 21 assists across all competitions.

The first of his six goals in the Premier League that season was the standout, opening the scoring at Old Trafford as Guardiola won his first Manchester derby.

His only goal in the Champions League came on a landmark night in the competition for the Club, beating Barcelona 3-1 at the Etihad. He fired a perfect free-kick over the wall to put us 2-1 ahead after Lionel Messi had opened the scoring for the visitors.

Goals: Seven (Six in the Premier League, one in the Champions League)

2017/18

The Belgian’s first Premier League title came as a central figure in a team now in Guardiola’s image.

He matched his 21 assists from the previous campaign but also added a few more goals, crucially at key moments.

It took seven matches for his first Premier League goal to arrive but when it did it was pivotal.

WATCH: Kevin De Bruyne's midfield masterclass

City were all over reigning champions Chelsea in a seismic tussle at Stamford Bridge but it was De Bruyne’s left-footed piledriver beyond Thibaut Courtois that sealed the victory and had City fans truly believing we were on for something special.

There were also league strikes against Spurs and Arsenal as well as one in each leg of the two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final with Bristol City.

He was still much more of a creator than a finisher, but De Bruyne’s 12 goals in total that year did so much in teeing us up for a Centurions season in the Premier League and a Carabao Cup to complete the double.

Goals: 12 (Eight in the Premier League, two in the Carabao Cup, one in the Champions League, one in the FA Cup)

2018/19

Our Fourmidables campaign was made all the more impressive considering we had to do it without De Bruyne for much of the season.

Our man suffered ligament injuries that essentially ruled him out of the first half of the season.

When he returned in December, he wasn’t quite at his inspired best and remained on the bench for the free-flowing Premier League classic with Liverpool at the start of January.

WATCH: Made In Belgium: Kevin De Bruyne

He played almost all of our run to Carabao Cup success and came on and scored in the 6-0 FA Cup final victory over Watford, but this was far from De Bruyne’s most influential season at City.

His six goals in 32 appearances is his lowest haul so far at City, notching twice in each of the Premier League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

Goals: Six (Two in the Premier League, two in the Carabao Cup and two in the FA Cup)

2019/20

A return to fitness and an outstanding return to form.

The Belgian made 39 goal contributions across all competitions including his second-best Premier League season for goals and a record equalling number of league assists (20 – tied with Thierry Henry).

WATCH: De Bruyne wins Etihad Player of the Season award!

Although it’s the only campaign in the last six in which we haven’t won the league, De Bruyne did everything he could to make us shine.

He scored 13 times in the Premier League, including three against Arsenal, two against Chelsea and another against Liverpool.

As always, those goals came from a whole array of strikes including a piledriver at Newcastle United, a cushioned left footed shot into the bottom corner at Arsenal and the most perfectly executed free-kick you could wish to see.

Our man also kept his cool in a seismic Champions League victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, sending Thibaut Courtois the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Goals: 16 (13 in the Premier League, two in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup)

2020/21

Our return to title winning form and the Club’s first Champions League final made it a special season for Pep’s side.

With Sergio Aguero less involved than previously, the goals were shared around the team.

De Bruyne chipped in with six of his own in the league but it was in the knockout stages of the Champions League that he made the most impact in front of goal.

WATCH: De Bruyne: A century of incredible assists

Playing as the furthest forward, he broke the deadlock in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg with Borussia Monchengladbach with a left footed piledriver.

He then scored in both the quarter-final with Borussia Dortmund and our last four clash at Paris Saint-Germain, playing all but one game in the knockout stage from the centre forward position.

Goals: 10 (Six in the Premier League, three in the Champions League, one in the FA Cup)

2021/22

A rare campaign in which his goal tally exceeded his assists, De Bruyne was the Club’s leading scorer in our successful Premier League title defence.

He hit 15 in total in league football, including one in each game with title rivals Liverpool, a brace in a home thrashing of Manchester United and a beautiful curling strike at home against Chelsea.

The standout performance came at Wolves though, when De Bruyne hit four goals in one game as we ran out 5-1 winners to edge us closer to the title.

WATCH: Kevin De Bruyne: 2021/22 season highlights

He again demonstrated just how difficult he is to defend against with three left-footed finishes and an assured strike on his favoured right.

In the Champions League, he scored the only goal across two legs against Atletico Madrid at the quarter-final stage before another in the 4-3 semi-final classic at the Etihad against Real Madrid.

Goals: 19 (15 in the Premier League, two in the Champions League, one in the FA Cup, one in the Carabao Cup)

2022/23

The arrival of Erling Haaland saw a return to the role of chief supplier for De Bruyne in 2022/23.

It worked to devastating effect of course, with Haaland breaking goal scoring records galore and City winning an historic Treble.

WATCH: Kevin De Bruyne: 2022/23 best bits

There were some outstanding goals from our No.17, there always are.

His free-kick at Leicester City earned the three points in a tough away game while his three goals across two games against Arsenal were pivotal in swinging the title race in our favour.

Perhaps the goal that will be remembered most fondly though came at the Bernabeu to earn a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.

After smashing the ball beyond Courtois, De Bruyne sunk to his knees and was visibly emotional as he acknowledged the intense pressure that came with competing on three fronts right to the very end.

Goals: 10 (Seven in the Premier League, two in Champions League, one in the FA Cup)

2023/24

After 23 minutes of the Premier League season opener at Burnley, it looked like De Bruyne’s campaign was already over.

However, the Belgian battled back to full fitness and impressed to the extent that he won January’s Etihad Player of the Month.

He scored one goal in that month - the crucial equaliser in the comeback win at Newcastle United. As he passes another significant landmark, he is now leading our hunt for yet more silverware.

His two brilliant finishes against Crystal Palace in April took him to three

Goals: Four