‘At the very, very top’… Gary Neville says no one comes close to £55m Man City star for one skill, not even Trent
Gary Neville has insisted Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne is ‘right at the very, very top’ when it comes to ball-striking and delivery.
The Belgian was City’s saviour on Saturday in the game against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
The pulsating game finished 3-2 to City, with De Bruyne grabbing a goal and then an assist for Oscar Bobb in injury-time.
It was a sensational cameo, with people just left amazed by the 32-year-old’s wizardry with the ball at his feet.
In the eyes of Neville, Kevin De Bruyne‘s delivery is absolutely second to none…
Gary Neville claims Kevin De Bruyne is a better ball striker than Trent Alexander-Arnold and David Beckham
Newcastle United v Manchester City – Premier League
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
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Neville spoke about De Bruyne on the latest Gary Neville podcast, and he branded the City maestro ‘delicious’.
He believes De Bruyne is now one of the ‘great, great players’ in Premier League history, but in terms of his ball striking, there is nobody better. Not Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold, not his former teammate David Beckham, no one.
He said: “I think Trent Alexander-Arnold is someone who can deliver a ball brilliantly. David Beckham who I played with for many years, was a beautiful striker of the ball.
“But that is where Kevin De Bruyne is right at the very, very top, in terms of delivery, striking of a ball, set-pieces, crosses, passes. World-class, just world-class.”
De Bruyne may be best striker of a ball ever
A case can certainly be made that De Bruyne is the best striker of a ball the game has ever seen. He is certainly the best in recent history.
Lots of players today have wonderful technique, but De Bruyne is someone who combines technique with efficiency. The balls he puts into the box from crosses or set-pieces are usually always on the money.
He can drive the ball, whip it or float it, and can play passes from short, medium or long range.
It doesn’t matter what the situation demands, De Bruyne can conjure up the exact kind of ball that is needed, and it is truly a pleasure to watch him do that in a City shirt.
The Belgian midfielder came off the bench to fire City level before teeing up a stoppage-time winner for Oscar Bobb
PEP Guardiola admits he is running out of superlatives for Manchester City ‘legend’ Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian midfielder came off the bench to fire City level before teeing up a stoppage-time winner for Oscar Bobb, the Norwegian youngster’s first Premier League goal sealing a dramatic finish at St James’ Park.
A third straight league victory pushed the World Champions up to second, two points behind Liverpool after De Bruyne underlined his importance following his return from a five-month injury absence.
“Kevin is a special player, what can I say?” Guardiola said. “He’s a legend here, and he is loved by our fans. Five months is a long time to be out and hopefully, in the second part of the season, he can help us be there until the end.
“He’s a player who I give a little more freedom to so he can move where his gut instinct tells him. When he has the ball we need runners because he will find them with his quality and his vision and his pure talent. He came up with some more magic tonight.”
Guardiola joked that he had moaned at De Bruyne for not scoring with his first touch from a free-kick after his 69th-minute introduction.
He added: “I’m really happy with the team, we showed real personality and they showed me they want to be there, fighting until the end and that they want to retain the title.”
Newcastle surged into a first-half lead as goals in the space of two minutes from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon cancelled out Bernardo Silva’s 26th-minute opener for City.
A fourth consecutive Premier League defeat was the latest blow to the Magpies’ fading top-four hopes. Eddie Howe’s side are 11 points adrift of the Champions League places, and the Newcastle boss insisted: “There’s not a lot wrong with our performances.
“We could have scored more than two but their quality told in the end. De Bruyne is a world-class player. We’re in a good place and I don’t see any negativity, but I see hurt as we’re not winning and that’s what we’re here to do.
“We hoped De Bruyne might be a bit rusty when he came on but no, there was no sign of that unfortunately from our perspective.
“I thought we deserved something from the game, even after their third goal, but it wasn’t to be and we just ran out of gas.”
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