If there was ever any doubt that Kevin De Bruyne isn’t just Manchester City’s best player but arguably the best in the Premier League full stop, then his inspiring display at the Etihad Stadium in their emphatic 5-2 comeback against Crystal Palace should have well and truly quashed those.
Man City received a rather large early shock after finding themselves two goals down after just 21 minutes on Saturday, and it looked to be a topsy-turvy day that would once again confirm they are human in what has been their least dominant season for some time.
However, the reminder that we ultimately got is that is aging, injury problems and legs not moving quite as quickly as they used to may get the better of some, but class is permanent and if Blues could pick any player slightly past his prime to get them out of a tight spot, it will be Kevin De Bruyne 11 times out 10.
The Belgian midfielder not only got he team and the crowd back in the fight with a wonderful free-kick to make it 2-1, but he also managed to grab an assist for the third goal by Mateo Kovačić, having well and truly gotten their creative juices flowing. Speaking after the game, he made the objectives clear:
A leader, armband or not. Here’s what he has to say after the game.
Leading by example and then some.
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In truth, he could have had at least one more goal were it not for a strike rattling the post, as well as essentially helped carve out the equaliser from Omar Marmoush – now on six league goals for the season – and regardless of his recent fitness issues, his quality shone through as always.
The 33-year-old described himself as being relatively “pain-free” for the last year, and putting smaller issues with hamstrings and a hernia aside, he is already starting to reflect on what has been a remarkable 10 years both for the club and him personally here in Manchester.
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He went on to add that winning the FA Cup would be the “perfect ending” to his time in Manchester, but who knows? Maybe they could always tie on a second FIFA Club World Cup if he’s still around by then.
As for Pep Guardiola, you only need to see the way he looked at his number 17 when he walked off the pitch to see how much he means to the side and the fans, going on to add in the post-match that not only did he obviously “change the momentum” and the game but he knows he can always “rely on him.”
In fact, Pep summed up the legacy he’s going to leave behind in just one word…
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“His legacy will be eternal.” 💙
Pep Guardiola on the race for Champions League football and Kevin de Bruyne's announcement 🤝
De Bruyne confirmed he will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season after a decade that has established him as one of the very best players in the world, and it’s more than fair to say that City won’t be the same without him – we’re pretty sure neither will the league.
It doesn’t matter who you support, he won’t be playing forever, so enjoy watching it while it lasts.
You can watch the highlights from Man City’s magnificent Premier League comeback against Crystal Palace, led by the brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne, in full down below:
Featured Images — TNT Sports (screenshots via YouTube)
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Manchester’s National Football Museum to screen England’s Euro 2025 matches for free this summer
Emily Sergeant
England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 matches are to be shown on big screens for free in Manchester this summer.
As England women’s national football team look to retain their title and continue to build on their ever-growing success as one of the best national football teams in the world, Manchester‘s National Football Museum is set to host a series of family-friendly watch parties after hours for the UEFA Women’s Euros this summer.
Visitors of all ages are welcome to support and celebrate England as they kick-off their campaign against France in the group stages on 5 July, followed by matches against the Netherlands on 9 July, and Wales on 13 July.
As Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses head to Switzerland with the hopes of being crowned European champions, you can head to the National Football Museum for some safe and inclusive fun.
Not only will the matches be shown in all their glory for free on a big screen, but you can also expect an on-site bar, and even the option to pre-order pizza ahead of time to feast on while you’re watching the action.
Watch parties will be taking place at the National Football Museum on the following dates:
France v England – 5 July at 8pm
England v Netherlands – 9 July at 5pm
England v Wales – 13 July at 8pm
To mark the beginning of the tournament, the museum will also be hosting a vibrant weekend of events on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 July, so get ready to strike a pose in Lionesses’ kits, create your own dazzling banner, and drum-up support with your very own chant.
Manchester’s National Football Museum is screening England’s Euro 2025 matches for free this summer / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“This promises to be an exciting summer for football,” said Tim Desmond, who is the CEO of the National Football Museum.
“We want to bring the powerful sense of community that tournament football delivers to our museum, helping both new and returning visitors understand why football matters, and witness the impact our pioneering Lionesses can have in inspiring generations of budding young footballers.
“That’s why we are so delighted to be able to offer watch parties for this year’s tournament, providing a safe, inclusive, and exciting place for all fans to cheer on England.”
Featured Image – Molly Darlington / The FA (via England on Facebook)
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Manchester City confirm fourth signing of the summer as spending spree continues
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially revealed their fourth signing of the summer window after confirming the transfer of top target Tijjani Reijnders.
The highly sought-after Serie A midfielder joins the club from AC Milan on a five-year contract for an initial fee of approximately £46.5 million, after having been tracked by a number of clubs across Europe over the past season or so.
Reijnders, 26, registered 15 goals and five assists from central midfielder last season (more than any other player in the league) with Italian football journalist Mina Rzouki stating that he models his game on Kevin De Bruyne, making him the perfect replacement for the Belgian – on paper, at least.
Finally unveiled on Wednesday, 11 June, he is arguably the statement signing of what looks to be a continued spending spree which began back in January.
With Man City splashing roughly £200m to kick off the 2025 calendar year as they brought the likes of Omar Marmoush and a trio of defensively geared players in Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and CDM Nico Gonzalez, it seems like they started as they mean to go on.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak assured fans that the club would be picking up “several players” in a recent interview after he argued they hadn’t been aggressive enough last summer, and given that the current main window hasn’t even been open for a fortnight yet, we’d say he’s sticking to that promise.
This year actually marks a rare instance of the transfer window being broken up into two parts due to the FIFA Club World Cup (which City are among the favourites to win) and will then re-open on 16 June.
Nevertheless, the Blues look to have got plenty of their business done already, not only with the arrival of Reijnders but the acquisition of left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri earlier this week, plus another attack-minded midfielder, Rayan Cherki.
The second player of Algerian descent and the second signing of the summer window was quickly announced by the Man City social media team just before the Dutchman.
Along with the signing of a new shotstopper, Marcus Betinelli from Chelsea – set to replace former reserve goalkeeper Scott Carson, who left the club after six seasons on Monday – that makes it four new incoming already.
Once again, not only do these latest additions to Pep Guardiola’s squad take their transfer total to over £300m on new talent in 2025, but there is still plenty of time for City to sign even more players with the summer window not closing until 7pm BST on 1 September.
Although the club have now acquired all of the players they have been most publicly linked with so far, it’s unclear whether their spending will continue or if the focus now turns to the Club World Cup getting underway this month and preparing the current squad for next season.
What do you make of Man City‘s latest recruits? Don’t forget, there have been some new arrivals in the backroom as well.
Danny Jones -
12th April 2025 
