Pep Guardiola has stressed on the importance of Kevin De Bruyne to his Manchester City side as it aims to challenge Liverpool for the Premier League title. The Citizens put in a commendable shift to cruise to an emphatic 7-0 victory over Rotherham United in Sunday's FA Cup clash.
Featuring in the mix was star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne who recently returned from yet another injury spell. Having failed to play in the mid-week victory over Liverpool, the former ex-Wolfsburg and Chelsea player was involved in Sunday's action for 66 minutes. He was subsequently replaced by Philip Sandler but ended his day's work by providing the assist for Raheem Sterling's opening goal.
Clearly, Pep Guardiola does not want to rush the Belgian's return despite labeling him as his side's fulcrum in the quest to usurp Liverpool for the Premier League title.
How I feel to be on that pitch again pic.twitter.com/w5HQZPPN64
— Kevin De Bruyne (@DeBruyneKev) January 6, 2019
"We spoke with him yesterday to play 65-70 minutes, full intensity, and to do everything that is good for his rhythm," Guardiola told a news conference.
"He played an incredible game, created a lot of chances and he has the vision to see what other people cannot see.
"Last season he played an incredible number of minutes and this season it is just 400 minutes when everyone else plays 2,000. Hopefully, in the last part of the season he is able to help us because we need him.
"I said many times how important Kevin is for us. Without him, last season would not have been possible. We have done incredible in terms of results. We have an opponent [Liverpool] that has done better than us, without us having him, and that can happen."
Kevin De Bruyne is expected to be handed another starting role when City takes on Burton Albion in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
