Pep Guardiola said he was delighted to welcome Kevin De Bruyne back into the side after the midfielder provided an assist against Huddersfield on his Manchester City return.
City began the defence of their FA Cup crown with a 5-0 thrashing of the Terriers at the Etihad, a fixture which saw De Bruyne make his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury.
The Belgium international had not featured since the opening weekend of the Premier League season, but showed few signs of rust has he set up Jeremy Doku for the fifth goal with a right-wing cross.
Phil Foden had opened the scoring and scored twice, alongside a Julian Alvarez strike and own goal from Ben Jackson.
Guardiola discussed the importance of De Bruyne’s return as the treble winners look to compete for honours across the second half of the campaign.
“We are incredibly delighted to have him back because Kevin [de Bruyne] helps to win games. It is so important to have him back after a long injury.” Guardiola said, as per the BBC.
“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.”
