Forget Salah, De Bruyne was the PL’s best player in 21-22 & we can prove it

It was appropriate that Manchester City’s 2021-22 Premier League title win required a moment of magic from Kevin De Bruyne on the final day.

Pep Guardiola’s side had staged a stunning comeback against Aston Villa, scoring twice in two minutes to restore parity after Matty Cash and Phillipe Coutinho had given the Villains a two-goal lead at the Etihad.

However, Rodri’s equalising goal was not necessarily enough to seal the title. City knew that should Liverpool take the lead at Anfield – which they later did through Mohamed Salah – the title would go to the Reds.

That was before De Bruyne had his say. The clock was ticking towards the 81st minute when the Belgian pounced on a loose ball just outside the area, drove into the box and fired the ball across the goal to the back post, as he so often does. There was Ilkay Gundogan to finish, as he so often has done since Guardiola reinvented him as a goal threat.

With that goal, City’s grasp on the title was much more sure. They would not relinquish it and they went on to celebrate their fourth Premier League title in five seasons. De Bruyne has been at the heart of City’s fantastic season and was rewarded for that fine form with the Player of the Season award from the Premier League.

To some publications and on social media, this was the wrong choice. Nobody would deny De Bruyne’s excellence but he had only played 65% of the minutes available in the league, compared to Salah’s 81%. Meanwhile, the Egyptian contributed 23 goals and 14 assists the Liverpool’s title challenge, whilst City’s man scored 15 times and assisted eight.

However, to really tell the story of De Bruyne’s season, we need to dig beneath the surface of those headline figures. Salah still comes out on top if