Kevin De Bruyne failed to take one last trophy with him before leaving Manchester City. The Belgian midfielder has had a very successful career at Manchester City, but the final leg of his journey ended with regret.
City lost to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, 0-1, in what was supposed to be one of De Bruyne’s swansongs, with the club and fans planning to thank him for his contributions over the years. But now, everything went wrong.
Before the game, City manager Pep Guardiola said, “We want to win this game just for De Bruyne.” The team even planned to erect a statue of him outside their home stadium, the Etihad, before he left. Just days before the game, a huge De Bruyne mural was unveiled in the city center.
But reality didn’t play out the way everyone hoped it would. Not only did the game make City’s entire season look a little embarrassing, it also made De Bruyne’s farewell a little less than perfect.
During the game, De Bruyne wasn’t bad, but he didn’t create too much trouble for the opposition either. He had a couple of good passes, one in particular to Harland was brilliant. But he also missed a good chance – a shot from inside the box that went surprisingly high.
Guardiola had wanted to play him the whole game as a sign of respect. But judging by the results, that decision didn’t help. Perhaps replacing him with another player such as Jack Grealish or Mateusz Nunez would have had a better chance of breaking the deadlock.
De Bruyne has played a total of 419 games for City, scoring 108 goals and dishing out 177 assists. These stats speak volumes about how good a player he used to be. But in this season, his form has slipped significantly, scoring only six goals and assisting eight times. Age and injuries have affected his play.
He is 33 years old and his body reaction and speed are not as good as before. In this crucial match, he faced Crystal Palace’s young midfielder Adam Walton. In comparison, De Bruyne ran much slower and struggled to keep up the pace. The most impressive “shot” was when he hit Walton in the head with a powerful shot, causing the other player to be sent to the hospital.
Now, De Bruyne still has two Premier League matches to play. One of them is against Bournemouth at home, which could be his last appearance at home for City. Fans will probably thank him and send him off on that day. But even manager Pep Guardiola is not sure if De Bruyne still wants to continue to play in the last two rounds.
For De Bruyne, the defeat is not just a personal loss, but also reflects the fact that City have underperformed as a whole this season. In a recent interview, De Bruyne mentioned that he was a bit surprised that City did not renew his contract. Despite this, he still believes he can still play at a high level.
Looking back at his years at City, De Bruyne has won a total of 16 titles. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in the club’s history. Unfortunately, this illustrious career didn’t come to a perfect conclusion.
De Bruyne left Manchester City without any new trophies in his hands. For such a player who had contributed so much to the team, such an ending is indeed sad.
Summing up:
De Bruyne spent many successful years at Manchester City, but the final phase was full of regrets. Both the team’s overall performance and his personal form showed some signs of decline. While he still possesses the skill, age and injuries have made him less influential than he once was.
The result of this FA Cup final also means that De Bruyne will end his journey at City with a trophy-less season. It’s a disappointing end to the season, no doubt, but the history he has made and the contribution he has made will always be remembered by City fans.
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