Liverpool fans can breathe a sigh of relief this morning as they will have at least five days without seeing Man City superstar Kevin De Bruyne. A Steven Gerrard-like performance from the midfielder yesterday saw him score for the fourth successive match and the form of the Belgian will be crucial in the title run-in.
The fear that the City captain strikes into opposition players and fans as he drives through midfield is unrivalled - and may contain something of an irony for Reds supporters watching on.
In 10 Premier League appearances against Liverpool, De Bruyne now has three goals and five assists. The playmaker is in the form of his life and looks set to compete with Mohammed Salah for the PFA Player of the Year award.
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He would become the first player to win the prize three years in a row and after 11 goals this campaign he is on course to beat his career best total of 13 in 2019-20.
In the biggest game of the season De Bruyne stepped up and delivered. Within five minutes he effortlessly glided past Fabinho and his deflected shot beat Alisson.
Whenever City turned the Liverpool midfield and De Bruyne had space, his supreme range of passing cut open the Reds’ defence and his two key passes were only bettered by Salah.
He nearly doubled his goal tally when an effort hit the side netting and was arguably unfortunate not to register an assist for Raheem Sterling’s disallowed offside strike.
Among the £491million of talent within City’s line-up, De Bruyne is the key cog in the machine and makes everything tick. De Bruyne recorded a match-high five crosses and despite completing just 30 passes, every time he got the ball there was a sense something could happen.
It was a performance that was reminiscent of Gerrard in every sense with the driving runs, precise passing and goal-scoring threat - except the Anfield legend was often ploughing a lone furrow in teams which could not match the overall quality that Pep Guardiola's current outfit offer.
It is an unfortunate truth that Gerrard played in strong sides capable of winning cups - even a Champions League - but were perhaps not well-rounded enough and did not possess deep enough squads to get over the line in the league.
If De Bruyne continues this form he can fairly be put at the top of the tree with the now Aston Villa boss as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history.
And Liverpool know that crafting a plan to keep him quiet at Wembley on Saturday will be key to their progress in the competition, as dreams of a quadruple remain well and truly alive.
