Pep Guardiola lauds Kevin De Bruyne following statement display in Manchester City rout of RB Leipzig | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Kevin De Bruyne was delighted with Kevin De Bruyne’s dynamic performance as the Blues cruised past RB Leipzig to seal a place in the Champions League quarter-final.

The Premier League champions sealed a berth in last eight of Europe’s elite club competition for the sixth successive campaign as Erling Haaland netted five times in a 7-0 (8-1 on aggregate) Round of 16 return leg win at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne added further strikes in what was a simply scintillating attacking showing from Pep Guardiola’s men following a 1-1 first leg draw in Leipzig.

However, whilst Erling Haaland stole the spotlight, the onus was on Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian was recalled to the starting XI by Guardiola after starting City’s weekend win against Crystal Palace on the bench.

De Bruyne’s performances of late have come under criticism and despite the 31-year-old’s impressive attacking stats, City’s chief playmaker is believed to have undergone a minor slump in form, resulting in fewer starts over the past month.

Guardiola said ahead of City’s midweek thrashing of RB Leipzig that De Bruyne could benefit from going back to his principles in what was a perceived call for the Belgium international to correct the sloppiness in possession that had crept into his game since the Qatar World Cup.

However, De Bruyne ran the show for the hosts in the middle of the park from start to finish on Tuesday, with a five-star showing rounded off by a brilliant strike from distance to put the cherry on a very sweet tasting cake for the Blues in front of a buoyant Etihad Stadium.

“I’m not going to discover Kevin (De Bruyne). He’s a fantastic, extraordinary player. The rhythm he played with today (on Tuesday) – the movement outside and inside the channels, with the ball and without the ball – is the Kevin (De Bruyne) we know,” Guardiola said after the game.

“This season, we have not seen him (De Bruyne) much in that situation – it happened because of many years, because of the World Cup and many things.

“When this happens and he (De Bruyne) plays with the rhythm, after he can score goals and make assists. He’s so dynamic. He is a player that has to move and move. In those terms, Kevin is unstoppable. Hopefully he can realise (that) for the future.”