Kevin De Bruyne sparks disbelief amid Man City ‘concern’ for FA Cup final – ‘Wow’
Man City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne endured a hugely disappointing first half as his side took on Southampton at St Mary’s.
The Belgium international has enjoyed an excellent ten-year spell with the club, during which time he has been key to them winning numerous trophies.
However, De Bruyne will leave Man City when his contract expires at the end of this season, with it still to be revealed where he will move next.
In the mean time, the midfielder is still playing for Pep Guardiola‘s side in the final stages of the campaign, although he found it tough against the Premier League’s bottom side on Saturday (10 May).
Kevin De Bruyne underwhelms against Southampton
Last week, De Bruyne scored the only goal of the game to give Man City a 1-0 win over Wolves to boost their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
They may have expected to maintain their good form with relative ease against the Saints, who went into this game still needing a point to avoid equalling Derby’s lowest ever tally in the Premier League.
By half time though, the match remained locked at 0-0, with Man City rarely troubling Aaron Ramsdale in the Southampton goal, and it stayed that way throughout.
Indeed, De Bruyne would waste the opportunity to test the former England international with two free kicks, while another delivery into the area late in the first half was easily dealt with by Ramsdale.
| Kevin De Bruyne vs Southampton | Total (SofaScore) |
| Shots on Target | 1 |
| Shots off Target | 1 |
| Blocked Shots | 3 |
| Accurate Passes | 59/70 |
| Accurate Crosses | 6/18 |
| Successful Dribbles | 1/2 |
| Duels Won | 4/6 |
All of that led Kris Boyd to suggest there will be a growing concern about the 33-year-old ahead of their FA Cup final against Crystal Palace next week.
While reporting on the game for Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, the former Rangers striker was asked if Man City will be concerned by their performance ahead of that final at Wembley.
In response, Boyd singled out De Bruyne while noting (10 May, 3.47pm): “Yeah it would be. [ex-Palace forward] Clinton [Morrison] just said that a couple of minutes ago, ‘I hope they play like this next week’.
“Crystal Palace are better than Southampton, they’ve got better players, I mean what are we seeing here?
“Kevin De Bruyne is inside Manchester City’s own half, he’s got back and he’s just launching a ball into the box right now, straight through to Ramsdale, wow.”
After being asked why the Belgian had done that, the ex-Scotland international admitted: “Wow, I don’t know what’s going on there. That’s half time, wow, right. What’s he doing?”
Man City under pressure ahead of FA Cup final
Football Insider Verdict
Things would get no better after half time for De Bruyne and co. after half time, with Man City being held to goalless draw by Southampton.
Given the lowly nature of their opponents, they surely have to view this as a major opportunity missed in the race for a Champions League place.
That has now left them exposed to the vast chasing pack in the battle for a spot in Europe’s top competition for next season, one of the last ways in which they can salvage a disappointing campaign.
Another way in which they can do that is by lifting silverware by beating Crystal Palace in that FA Cup final next weekend.
If Man City play like they did at Southampton next week though, they will find it very hard to overcome Oliver Glasner’s side.
As a result, this will be seen as a missed opportunity to build momentum ahead of such an important game, and De Bruyne’s performance both did not help that, and will have added to the concern.