FOCUS – The Skyblues will have to do without the services of their Belgian leader against PSG this Wednesday. A hard blow, but not insurmountable.
You miss only one being… but all is not depopulated. In this case, it is Kevin De Bruyne who will be missing in Manchester City this Wednesday (9 p.m.) against PSG, during the fifth day of the Champions League. The 30-year-old Belgian international leader (88 caps, 33 goals) tested positive for Covid-19 on his return from the recent rally with the Red Devils. He has already missed the match against Everton (3-0) last weekend, in the Premier League, and will be absent again against the Parisians. “He will be in solitary confinement for 10 daysSkyblues coach Pep Guardiola said before facing the Toffees. «He told me he was positive two days ago. He’s in Manchester. He must recover well. The human is more important than everything else“, Added the Spanish coach of the English champions, noting that”people are dying from this pandemic. He has been vaccinated, so he is more protected. I hope the symptoms will be minor. He will come back as soon as possible. We have to help him».
Make no mistake: the absence of a player like De Bruyne would be a blow to any team. Manchester City is no exception. We are talking here about one of the best footballers on the planet, a master in the art of passing, a leader, a player with experience and character. A little too often, we remember that he probably should have been sent off during the first leg between PSG and City, on September 28, at the Parc des Princes (2-0 victory for Paris-SG). A player who has also long made the club of the capital dream before responding favorably to Mancunian sirens, in 2015. Since then, he has especially given Paris Saint-Germain nightmares, finding the net three times in a row against the Rouge et Bleu, both in the first leg and in the return trip in 2016, at the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and in the semi-final first leg of last season, in Paris. Five matches, three goals.
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City History Monument
Still, the native of Tronchiennes, passed through Genk, Chelsea, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg, rose to the rank of legend at Manchester City, where he is under contract until 2025. Master to play. Kevin De Bruyne is 70 goals, 108 assists and 11 trophies in total with the Citizens, including three coronations in the Premier League (2018, 2019, 2021). A monster, a monument. And not just on a Manchester City scale.
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But at the Etihad Stadium, the real star is … on the bench. It’s Pep Guardiola. And the strength of this team lies in its collective. Obviously, it’s easier with Kevin De Bruyne in action. But the former coach of FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich does not lack resources. If the PSG bet on the superstars, City took the party to double all the positions and to fill its workforce of technical players, able to meet the expectations of their Catalan mentor. Moreover, the absence of the number 17, author of three goals and an assist in 14 matches since the start of the season, did not prevent Aymeric Laporte and company from teaching Everton a lesson last weekend, keeping their clean sheet, as has often been the case since the start of the season. If PSG are always more feverish, City have conceded only six goals in 12 Premier League games in 2021-22, the club’s weakest total since 2018-19 (5). This is less true in C1, with already seven goals conceded in six matches, including two against Paris-SG.
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In any case, Manchester City will certainly be weakened without its Belgian strategist, but not an orphan. “You can’t be satisfied when other players are injured, assured Marco Verratti. It will be a high level match. There is not only one danger. Danger can come from anywhere because it’s a great team, with great players. It is the same on our side.»
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Moreover, Pep Guardiola’s men have won their four Premier League games without him this season, including 5-0 cards against Norwich and Arsenal, as well as a 1-0 victory at Leicester. Last season, at the start of 2021, his ischio injury did not slow down the forward march of his teammates either, at the heart of a series of 15 straight league wins. De Bruyne had also missed four of the six group matches for C1 in 2020-21 and the round of 16 first leg in Mönchengladbach. In short, with Kevin De Bruyne, it’s better. Without it, it’s fine. Enough to worry this Paris Saint-Germain in search of certainties in the game.
What City will miss most is a center forward
In fact, what Manchester City will be missing the most this Wednesday, and that’s nothing new, is a worthy center-forward. Future retiree, Sergio Agüero has never been replaced. And this fault had cost the Parc des Princes dearly, on the way out. “We did everything we could. I think we created enough chances to score (…), we should have scored and we didn’t, that’s why we lost», Guardiola had analyzed. Aware of the lack, the latter went out of his way to recruit Harry Kane last summer. Alas, Tottenham turned a deaf ear and the captain of the “Three Lions” did not budge.
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Suddenly, City relies on talent and movement. “We have never played with a center forward who systematically waits in the box. Gabriel Jesus can do it even if he prefers to play on one side. We still have three players in attack, even if they can play lower. When a left-back goes up to a more forward position, is he a winger? There is a lot of movement on the field, it depends on the movements of the opponent. We put names on the scoresheet, but there is freedom on the pitch, that’s what we’ve been doing for six years“, Said Pep Guardiola Tuesday, facing the press.
Charges Phil Foden, Ilkay Gündogan, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish or Riyad Mahrez, executioner of PSG in the semi-finals last season, to make people forget the absences of a fox from the surfaces and Kevin De Bruyne. With a victory, City would be sure to finish at the top of Group A. If Bruges do not win against Leipzig at the same time, the club dear to the Gallagher brothers would at least qualify for the 8th from this Wednesday, even by losing.
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