It was supposed to be Liverpool who were doing the quadruple, not Kevin De Bruyne. But, just as Manchester City agreed to sign a scorer, De Bruyne proved they already have one, borrowing Erling Haaland’s prolific streak and his trademark celebration. The £51m Norwegian should be a guarantee of goals next year but De Bruyne has garnished his all-round excellence with four in a game to make this the most productive season of his stellar career. He took his tally to 19 with a performance of extraordinary dominance. On nights like this, City may not need Haaland. With displays like this, a fourth league title in five seasons should be theirs at some stage in the next 11 days.
While Patrice Evra had claimed Pep Guardiola prefers players with no personality, De Bruyne stamped his authority on a potentially awkward occasion. Only Sadio Mane and Dwight Yorke had brought up a Premier League hat-trick within 24 minutes of the kick-off before. De Bruyne’s first three were all the more admirable because each came with his less favoured left foot and all the more significant because they restored City’s three-point lead at the top of the table while putting their goal difference potentially beyond Liverpool’s reach.
