De Bruyne to stay? — Guardiola praises KDB for returning to best form in Palace rout

Pep Guardiola with Kevin De Bruyne in August 2024 (Credit: Imago)

De Bruyne to stay? — Guardiola praises KDB for returning to best form in Palace rout

Faruq Ibrahim 21:14 - 12.04.2025

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola praised Kevin de Bruyne for his contribution to the victory against Crystal Palace.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was full of praise for outgoing midfielder Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian inspired a 5-2 comeback victory against Crystal Palace

The 33-year-old ends his 10-year association with the club at the end of this season, with Pep Guardiola admitting that he and the club refused to offer KDB a new contract following a spate of injuries that have resulted in a steep decline. 

However, today, the Belgian rolled back the years, scoring Manchester City’s first and assisting the third, as they came back from two goals down to wallop the Eagles. 

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What Pep said 

After the game, the Manchester City manager expressed his satisfaction with De Bruyne's performance. 

"[It's] the Kevin we have known for many years," Guardiola said, per BBC Sport. "I know he's struggled the last year and a half.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola with midfielder Kevin De Bruyne

"He's free without pain and completely different. The way we played helped him a lot with incredible runners, the young lads, the full-backs.

"I would say we played really good all game. We were 2-0 down, and we created a lot, and I said at half time we were playing good.

"Our momentum was sparked with a free-kick from Kevin, and after that, we played a really good game considering we were 2-0 down and considering how Crystal Palace have been in the past games."

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