Pep Guardiola has clearly learnt a lesson about Kevin De Bruyne at Man City recently
It’s not often that leaving Kevin De Bruyne on the bench is the right decision – but it was this week.
Manchester City returned to winning ways on Tuesday with a hard-fought 1-0 win over a resolute Brentford.
Pep Guardiola’s side dominated proceedings but were struggling to find the breakthrough as the clock ticked down.
It was only in the 71st minute when defender Kristoffer Ajer slipped was Erling Haaland able to race through and score the decisive goal.
It was a massive victory. Given how disappointed City were after failing to beat Chelsea, a second consecutive draw would have been heartbreaking.
The win saw them move back up to second and within a point of Premier League leaders Liverpool but for the longest time, it looked as though it would be one of those days.
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Kevin De Bruyne was named on the bench for the match but as City continued to toil he wasn’t brought on.
Guardiola brought on Jeremy Doku to make the difference but while the rest of the subs warmed up, De Bruyne remained in his seat throughout.
It seemed strange in the moment to have the brilliant Belgian to hand but not use him when City were chasing a goal but it proved to be the correct call.
Kevin De Bruyne sat on the bench.
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Why Kevin De Bruyne wasn’t brought on against Brentford
Speaking in his post-match press conference after the win, Guardiola explained: “We did not use Kevin today because he has niggles in his hamstring position.
“He’s okay. It’s more caution and prevention than anything. He didn’t feel comfortable and the doctors said there was a little bit of risk.
“After five months off, we did not take any risk with that.”
A good lesson learned
Approaching 33 and with a lot of wear and tear on his body, this is absolutely the right approach to take with De Bruyne going forward. A lesson that has been learned the hard way.
De Bruyne suffered the agony of going off injured in a second Champions League final last season when his hamstring finally gave way against Inter.
It was a serious injury that was expected to rule him out for the start of the season. The midfield maestro went on the pre-season tour of Asia but did not play a single minute of action.
But then he surprisingly came on for the final 25 minutes of the Community Shield. That was judged to be enough preparation so the No.17 started the first game of the season at Burnley.
De Bruyne was excellent in the match but he sadly lasted less than 20 minutes. The hamstring had gone again and this time he would be out for a significant period.
Guardiola took a big risk in starting De Bruyne at Turf Moor and it backfired as he missed the entire first half of the campaign.
It’s clearly not a mistake he is willing to make again and careful management of De Bruyne is the best way forward.
He is incredible on the pitch but if he has to be taken off it occasionally to avoid another lengthy layoff, it’s a worthy sacrifice.
A cautious approach is the best approach, for City and De Bruyne.
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