Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench and inspired Man City’s victory (Picture: Getty)
Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne has equalled Wayne Rooney on 103 Premier League assists after his heroics in the victory over Newcastle United.
De Bruyne has missed almost the entire season with a hamstring injury but recently made his return to first-team action.
The Belgian was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over Sheffield United at the end of December but came off the bench as City beat Newcastle 3-2 on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s side were 2-1 down at St James’ Park when De Bruyne was introduced and it took him just five minutes to score and level the game up.
Then in the 91st minute, De Bruyne provided a delightful ball for Oscar Bobb as City secured all three points, moving to joint-third alongside Manchester United legend Rooney on the all-time Premier League assists list.
‘I missed this,’ De Bruyne told TNT Sports after the match. ‘It is what it is, I had a big injury and I needed the time.
‘I enjoyed myself. I think it was more willpower than anything else. It was crazy. I know I’m not able to do that for 90 minutes at the moment.
Oscar Bobb scored a late winner from Kevin De Bruyne’s assist (Picture: Getty)
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‘I can put in a shift for 30 minutes at the moment. I feel it in my lungs, especially with the cold.
‘It’s great to score the goal. The [assist] is good, but the run from Oscar [Bobb] is amazing. It was top from him. I look at his run. If he doesn’t run then I can’t pass the ball.
‘Everyone was really happy for me. We want to try and compete for the league again. We are up there. It was a tough game.’
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