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Published on 2024-02-01 10:45:31
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne recently discussed the club’s set-piece training after providing an assist against Burnley on Wednesday evening.
The 32-year-old made his first start for Manchester City since August, captaining Pep Guardiola’s side in the 3-1 Premier League win over Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne played a key role in Manchester City’s second goal, as Julian Alvarez scored a brace with his goals bringing his tally for the season to 15.
De Bruyne revealed that the free-kick routine had been discussed in training prior to the match, with Manchester City having also scored against Spurs from a set-piece in the FA Cup last week.
He said, “Yesterday, we worked on it. I didn’t really want to do it. But the defender with Julian [Alvarez] moved into the middle. So he opened space to go into. I just had to put it straight with the right speed.”
Alvarez opened the scoring with a smart header, before doubling the Blues’ lead after combining with De Bruyne for a clever set-piece routine.
De Bruyne effortlessly rolled the ball into the path of Alvarez, successfully deceiving Burnley’s defense and allowing the City striker to score goals in the 22nd minute.
Rodri also scored a goal from outside the area within 26 seconds of the second half, and Burnley did score a late consolation through Ameen Al-Dakhil at the Etihad Stadium.
After the victory, Manchester City remain five points behind league leaders Liverpool and are set to face Brentford in the Premier League on Monday evening.
De Bruyne, whose last start came in the reverse fixture at Turf Moor, played for 70 minutes on Wednesday night, as the Belgian international continues to recover from hamstring surgery.
With the victory and De Bruyne’s performance, it is evident that Manchester City is picking up momentum in their pursuit of the Premier League title.
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