Manchester City ace Kevin De Bruyne was hailed by sections of the media for his assist in the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United this afternoon.
Man City looked to be heading towards a vital win in the Manchester derby this afternoon, taking the lead in the second half and dominating much of the possession, but they were ultimately unable to emerge with the three points.
A header from substitute Jack Grealish just after the hour mark gave the visitors the lead, but goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford ensured that the Red Devils got the bragging rights, after a frantic end to the game.
Despite the Grealish goal not being enough to win the match, some superb play in the build-up from De Bruyne received widespread acclaim from the media.
After doing very well to work some space and perfectly pick his team-mate out in the area, journalist Simon Bajkowski hailed the ‘super play’ from the Belgian to ‘put it on a plate’ for his teammate.
Football writer Andrew Gaffney lauded the cross as ‘sensational’, while former footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft labelled the piece of pay as ‘brilliant’.
TIF thoughts on the Manchester derby…
While De Bruyne undoubtedly did very well for the goal, he was not at his usual best for much of the game, losing possession 20 times, the second-highest amount of any City player.
In truth, the 31-year-old’s teammates struggled to get him involved in the play for vast swathes of the game, as indicated by the playmaker having just 61 touches of the ball, far fewer than the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva.
His fantastic assist is a clear still a top performer at the very highest level, despite not registering a goal or assist in his previous four Premier League appearances, and Pep Guardiola will be hoping for an improved display against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.