Jermaine Jenas has said that one Manchester City player delivered an unusual performance during the recent FA Cup game against Chelsea.
The Citizens shook themselves off after they were knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday night by beating the west London club 1-0 at Wembley Stadium to book their place in the FA Cup final.
As the final whistle approached and the Blues avoided another extra time period and penalty shootout, the commentator chose one figure in Pep Guardiola’s side as his Player of the Match.
Jenas praises City star for ‘quality’ performance against Chelsea
Speaking on the BBC’s commentary towards the end of the game, Jenas had this to say when asked to pick who stood out for him.
He said: “[Kevin] De Bruyne is my player of the match, but not for the usual reasons. It has been a spicy game and he has made so many tackles, but he’s also had that bit of quality as well.”
De Bruyne completed the full 90 minutes against his old side and had 73 touches of the ball in total.
The Belgian had two attempts at goal but both were off-target.
He also lost possession 22 times in total, more than any other City player on the day.
Having also seven of the eight duels he was involved in, this suggests to us that while he may not have been at his best on this occasion, the fact that Jenas highlighted the other aspects of his game that made him stand out from the crowd shows that De Bruyne can still be a crucial figure for City.
De Bruyne could be the hero for City in the FA Cup final
Moving forward, with the Blues now having secured their place in the FA Cup final for a consecutive season, if the 32-year-old can deliver another top performance against whoever they play at Wembley next time, he has the quality to push his side to another victory, in our view.