ABU DHABI // Kevin de Bruyne has had a little time to digest Tuesday's frenetic Uefa Champions League clash with Monaco, but despite jetting out to Abu Dhabi directly after the last-16 first leg for some warm-weather training, the Manchester City midfielder finds the 5-3 thriller still difficult to comprehend.
“It’s one of the crazy ones, definitely,” De Bruyne says alongside a pitch in the shadow of Emirates Palace hotel. “It was a nerve-wracking game with a lot of emotion. Luckily, we won so we had a good end. It’s not done yet, but obviously it’s a nice feeling to win in the end.”
In the end, the City supporters at a raucous Etihad Stadium breathed a collective sigh of relief. Their team had been on the brink and then hauled themselves back from it, recovering from 2-1 and 3-2 down, meaning they are not simply still alive going into the second leg on March 15, but now somewhat in control.
Understandably, though, De Bruyne remains cautious.
“We will be favourites against Monaco, but they play very offensively so it will be a very tough game,” he says. “We’re two goals ahead of them and will try to qualify for the quarter-final. And then from that moment on anything can happen: it’s two games, in or out at that point, so everything’s possible.”
It has not always felt that way. Tuesday was easily the most captivating European night the Etihad has witnessed in its short existence, better than last year when De Bruyne scored the game’s only goal against Paris Saint-Germain to book City a place in a first Champions League semi-final.
It was better again than the 3-1 victory against Barcelona in the groups last November. De Bruyne scored there, too, but no matter the result or the performance it remained a competition the fans have not so readily taken to. Now, the players seem to be doing that instead.
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“It’s going better and better every year with the team,” De Bruyne says. “We’ve been in the Champions League for only four or five years so obviously it’s something new in the beginning.
“But the team is establishing themselves more and more in Europe, and also last year to reach the semi-final was already good, so hopefully we can go through against Monaco and see what we can do after that.”
To go further, City will no doubt have to defend better. On Tuesday, Monaco came close to building what would have been a hugely damaging two-goal advantage, with Radamel Falcao’s missed penalty for the French Ligue 1 leaders eventually proving costly.
The Colombian did soon atone, later brushing past John Stones and chipping Willy Caballero to give Monaco the lead once more. De Bruyne recognises such lapses must be eradicated if City are to progress.
“The goals we get against are not really that people outplay us. I think it’s the mistakes we make,” he says. “It’s when we have the ball at the back, we lose a few balls sometimes – that’s also the risk with the way we play. It’s not like they created the chance. We make two mistakes and then we get the goals against.
“A lot of people are saying that we’re weak defensively, but we have to also analyse the way we’re conceding. I don’t think we get a lot of chances against us, but it’s more dangerous when we do because the way we play is very offensive.”
Undoubtedly, De Bruyne is integral to that. The Belgian, 25, has arguably been City’s standout player since his club-record reported £55 million (Dh253.4m) transfer from Wolfsburg in August 2015, and he attributes his recent fine form – in a slightly less attacking role – to his partnership in midfield with David Silva and Yaya Toure.
“To play with David and Yaya the last few games, who with the ball are so strong, it definitely helps the team out,” De Bruyne said.
It helps them, too, to have someone of De Bruyne’s obvious talent. With it, come the praise and the plaudits, and perhaps explains why his former manager at Genk, Hein Vanhaezebrouck, compares the Belgian international to the largely incomparable Johan Cruyff.
“It’s a big compliment,” De Bruyne says. “Obviously I try to play the game in the way that I can help the team. I know I play a little bit more defensively now, more in the role as a team player, but I think I’m doing really well in that.
“People are looking a lot at statistics and all these things, but in the end I don’t really care. If we can win more games than last year where I score less I will be really happy. And maybe if we can win a few titles, that’s the bonus.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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