‘Unique’ De Bruyne’s return delights Guardiola

Huddersfield Town’s English midfielder #08 Jack Rudoni (C) vies with Manchester City’s Norwegian midfielder #52 Oscar Bobb (L) and Manchester City’s English defender #82 Rico Lewis (R) during the English FA Cup third round football match between Manchester City and Huddersfield Town at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Pep Guardiola lauded Kevin De Bruyne as a “unique” talent after the Belgian playmaker’s return to action in Manchester City’s FA Cup rout of Huddersfield.

The Belgium international came on as a 57th-minute substitute and set up a goal as the holders cruised to a 5-0 win over second-tier strugglers Huddersfield in a thoroughly lopsided clash at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

This was De Bruyne’s first senior appearance since tearing his hamstring during City’s Premier League opener against Burnley in August.

Chants of ‘Oh Kevin De Bruyne’ echoed around the ground when the 32-year-old replaced Julian Alvarez, with City already 2-0 up following goals from Phil Foden and Alvarez.

Guardiola’s side extended their lead through Ben Jackson’s own goal and another Foden effort before De Bruyne’s deft lofted pass allowed Jeremy Doku to complete the scoring.

“He played really good minutes,” said City manager Guardiola of De Bruyne.

“We thought it was better to play the second half than from the beginning when the game was tighter…It was really good and now, as I said before, he needs to accumulate training sessions and more training sessions, more than games. Still he is not ready for 90 minutes.”

The Spaniard added: “Kevin helps to win games and there are few (like him) in the world. We can play good football-wise but Kevin, (Erling) Haaland, Phil (Foden),