Guardiola praises De Bruyne’s ‘special ability and quality’ with Man City ‘delighted to have him back’ | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola gives instructions to Kevin De Bruyne.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is “incredibly delighted” to welcome back Kevin De Bruyne, who came off the bench against Huddersfield in the FA Cup.

De Bruyne made a trademark assist within 20 minutes of his return to help the Cityzens batter Darren Moore’s side at the Etihad on Sunday.

It was the Belgian’s first appearance since limping off in the first half of City’s Premier League opener at Burnley in August.

His return could be the catalyst for the Treble winners’ bid for their fourth successive Premier League title and a successful defence of the Champions League.

Speaking after the win in the FA Cup third round, Guardiola praised De Bruyne’s “special ability and quality”.

“We are incredibly delighted to have him back because Kevin helps to win games,” Pep said. “It is so important to have him back after a long injury.

“He will help us with his talent but I don’t want to put all the pressure on Kevin’s shoulders because it is not fair to him.

“Of course he has a special ability and quality to do something that is difficult to find. We have guys in midfield who love to run. Kevin is exceptional. He is unique. We are really pleased he is back after more than three months with injury. He had a really good assist for the Jeremy Doku goal.

“Really good to have him back.”

One player who has thrived in De Bruyne’s absence is Phil Foden, who had a great afternoon against Huddersfield, scoring twice.

“We’re all buzzing with result. It was a bit difficult to break them down,” Foden told BBC. “The first goal I scored was important, then we had more rhythm and we took our chances well.

“Delighted with he result, not an easy sided when they give everything to beat us but I thought the way we handled ourselves, didn’t get impatient, carried on playing our football – we’re delighted with the result.

“The team handles it well. We seem to come against a low block quite often.

“We know what to expect, we just need to be patient, find the spaces and keep switching and hopefully they’ll open up and get tired. We attacked at the right time and aggressively so it’s a great result.”

Foden added: “I’m enjoying my football at the moment, being in the pockets and in between the lines. It’s where I want to be, I need to keep helping the team with goals and assists and be that decisive player. I’m trying to do that every game.”