Sport

Kevin De Bruyne’s red-hot return from injury proves why he’s the best player in the Premier League

And one of the best in the world.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 14th February 2024

Kevin De Bruyne’s comeback from injury and subsequent red-hot return to form has proved yet again why he is the best player in the Premier League.

Even in the relatively short space of time that he’s been back out on the pitch and with Phil Foden having seriously stepped up in his absence, it didn’t take long for De Bruyne to remind the Manchester City faithful what they’ve been missing in his four-month period on the sidelines.

Appearing for just the first time in Europe this season as City took home a two-goal advantage from their away leg against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League round of 16, KDB didn’t only open the scoring but also managed to register a pair of assists, getting involved with every goal on the night.

Here’s how he got them off the mark:

Hasn’t skipped a beat, has he?

Perhaps most importantly, however, it looked like the Blues might be off to a flyer following this early opener and overall dominance but the home side did end up getting into the game and equalising in the 34th minute, suddenly giving the visitors more of a task. Good job they have De Bruyne.

The Belgian baller is more than a welcome addition back in the squad for the resumption of their UCL and treble defence; he already looks to have helped revitalise the side after small hints of ‘complacency’ or taking their foot off the gas a little, with Kev looking back to his best, if not maybe even beyond that.

The 32-year-old has already hinted that he might be playing or at least feeling ‘better than ever’ since coming back from his hamstring injury and besides a new trim, he also looks to have seemingly gained an extra yard of pace from somewhere and his on-pitch intelligence remains virtually unparalleled.

It is this lightning-quick return to match fitness and vintage Man City form that helped him claim two more assists for his tally and get back to business as usual — almost as if he never went anywhere.

No player has been involved in more so far this year. He’s also scored 10 and assisted nine in his last 22 UCL knockout matches. Levels.

It’s that restored sharpness that helped him get to the ball that made the second goal, albeit it was one of his more fortunate assists and returning the favour to Foden for his earlier set-up to close the game out also demonstrated that he’s slotted straight back in without any of those relationships dwindling.

But make no mistake, it wasn’t just last night that the midfield maestro shone as one of if not the best on the pitch since getting his boots back on. He’s now on 10 goal contributions in nine matches across all competitions this season, even despite having missed the majority of it and coming off the bench/not completing the full 90 in most.

In fact, it took him no time at all to get back on the scoresheet and assisting his teammates, grabbing one of each within just 20 minutes of being subbed on for his first game back in the Prem in City’s 3-2 comeback against Newcastle. He’s also grabbed an assist in every league fixture since.

Two words: impact and levels.

Class is permanent, as they say, and De Bruyne remains the best player in the Premier League.

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Pep Guardiola, Nathan Ake and Foden were all full of praise for the red-haired wizard on Tuesday night, with the defender waxing lyrical about his “top” form and simply hoping it can continue without interruption in his post-match interview.

As for us, when Erling Haaland is misfiring, luck isn’t going their way, and Pep’s players aren’t quite clicking like we know they can — only in contrast to the ridiculously high standards they’ve set for themselves — we’d still bank on even a couple moments of magic from this man turning the tide most days.

Yes, not exactly a groundbreaking revelation here, but Kevin De Bruyne has once again given us a reminder that he is the best player in the Premier League and one of if not the best it’s ever seen.

You can watch the highlights from City’s 1-3 victory against FC Copenhagen and KDB’s trio of goal contributions down below:

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Featured Images — TNT Sport/Manchester City (via Instagram)

Sport

British rock and mod icon Paul Weller stars in advert for new Oasis x Bohemians football kit

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bohemians FC Oasis kit collab

The music and football shirt crossovers just keep coming thick and fast – and that’s just Oasis alone, as Bohemians FC have released a new collaboration with the legendary Britpop band, looping in none other than Paul Weller for the grand unveiling.

Bohemians share a strong connection with the Gallagher brothers due to their Irish roots, as do Manchester and the ‘Emerald Isle’ in general.

This, of course, isn’t the first big marriage with a major music act they’ve done, as last season’s third-place finishers in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division famously roped in fellow Dublin giants Fontaines D.C. for a collab that sold out in an instant.

However, it doesn’t get much bigger than Oasis and with the Live ’25 reunion shows now just days away (we can hardly believe it either), Bohemians have decided to hop on the bandwagon too and steal some of that ‘band with the three stripes’ buzz for themselves.

Not to be too keen, but can we have 10 of them, please?…

Is this another instant hit? We’d say so, yeah.

Shot by Jamie Goldrick to the sound of cult favourite Definitely Maybe track, ‘Married with Children’, the Oasis x Bohemians kit reveal video was filmed at Cross Guns Snooker Hall: the oldest snooker club in Dublin City, which still remains an important community cornerstone.

As well as starring UK rock and mod culture icon, Paul Weller, perhaps the best bit about the FAI Cup shirt and this whole partnership is the charitable element behind it.

Just like with their Fontaines shirt, which helped supply medical aid across Palestine, the limited edition jersey will help generate crucial money for two key causes.

The first of which is the domestic non-profit organisation, Music Generation Ireland, the country’s national music education programme, which helps children and young people access vocal and instrumental tuition locally.

Secondly, funds will also be diverted to the Irish Community Care Manchester, located along Stockport Road in Levenshulme – further strengthening the mutual support between us Mancs and our cousins across the water.

You can get a close look at the Oasis x Bohemians kit design down below.

The special edition and highly exclusive shirt is already available, with stock already disappearing rapidly thanks to Bohs die-hards, Oasis fans and footy kit connosieurs alike.

With the Burnage boys getting their seismic comeback shows underway with two nights at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff this Friday and Saturday (4-5 July), before heading for a double bill at Croke Park in Dublin this August, the excitement across the globe is already palpable.

It’s almost like this is a big deal or something…

That being said, everything from never-before-seen exhibitions and official Adidas x Oasis merch stores are popping up here in Manchester and, indeed, all over ahead of their sell-out world tour, which is set to be nothing less than the biggest music event of the decade.

Every single teaser trailer and social media post sends fans bananas, and god knows what the scenes are going to be like when they finally head to Heaton Park for the run of five homecoming nights.

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Featured Images — Bohemians FC (press images/screenshots via YouTube)

Sport

Pep Guardiola aims not-so-subtle dig at ‘destructive’ FIFA Club World Cup

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep Guardiola Club World Cup comments

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is the latest to voice his concerns surrounding the ongoing 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, delivering a not-so-subtle dig at the competition.

Ahead of Man City‘s round of 16 match against Al Hilal in this year’s Club World Cup, of which they won all their group stage games, the Catalan head coach has once again come out to criticise the increasingly congested fixture calendar.

His comments come after former Liverpool manager and now Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, Jürgen Klopp, labelled the current off-season summer run of matches “the worst idea ever.”

Somewhat echoing his statement – or at the very least aligning with it (albeit indirectly) – Pep Guardiola gave his two cents also, claiming that the now extended, 32-team tournament could “destroy” his squad and their fortunes in the next campaign.

Clearly, Pep is far from the biggest of fan of the recently refreshed format, even despite having won the thing on four occasions in the past – the most recent being with Manchester City back in 2023.

Reflecting on what impact he fears the Club World Cup may have on his team next season, Guardiola said: “I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious. We will rest [for as much time as] the Premier League allows us to.

“And game by game, month by month, we will see. And maybe in November, December, January, ask me, Pep. I may say: ‘So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us.’ I don’t know, but it’s the first time in our [lives] that that’s happened [a 32-team CWC]. So we will see…”

Unpredictable weather in the United States, where the action is being hosted, has also been the subject of outrage in some cases, with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca stating, “It’s a joke! It’s not football”, after a major storm delay mid-game pushed meant that one of their games took five hours to finish.

The 54-year-old also insisted that those who were against the tweaked concept “fought a lot” here in England, in UEFA meetings and so on, as was the case with the revision of the new layout of the Champions League, but to no avail.

Regarding Klopp, who set this latest chain of criticism, he claims that whoever wins the 2025 Club World Cup is ultimately “pointless” and will be “the worst winner of all time because they’ll have played all summer and then gone straight back into the league.”

In his eyes, the decisions are being made by people who have “never been involved” with the pressure of day-to-day life in professional football and the physical toll of multiple competitions, in particular.

As for who might win the 2025 CWC, it could very well be Man City for a second time, as the Blues are the only team remaining that has a 100% win ratio this year, having most recently thrashed Juventus 5-2 in their last game.

Nevertheless, it seems that the stance of Klopp, Guardiola, Maresca and more is pretty plain: this particular tournament will go down in the record books for the wrong reasons, and they won’t be happy until the format is revisited.

Do you agree with Pep and co. on the Club World Cup controversy?

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Featured Images — Man City (screenshot via YouTube)

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