De Bruyne reveals that when he scored, he was trying to assist Haaland

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne said he is still missing games and minutes to be at 100 per cent after excelling in the Sky Blues' Champions League last-16 first-leg win. The Belgian provided two assists and scored a goal in Manchester City's win over Copenhagen on Tuesday.

"It was a difficult game. We've played here a couple of times before and the atmosphere is great. We respected them," De Bruyne told 'TNT Sports'. "We started very well and when we made a mistake they punished us, but we still played very well. We managed to score the third goal and, now, we have a bigger lead."

On the analysis of his goal, he admitted he was thinking about an assist: "I was looking for Erling, but he was covered really well... so I tried slotting it in the back post & it went in!". This was his seventh game - his fourth start - since returning from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the first half of the season.

"I'm just trying to play well. It's been a long five or six months, but I'm happy to be back and helping the team. I'm feeling good. Obviously, I still need a couple more games and more minutes because I haven't played a full 90 minutes in almost a year, but I'm close. I'm feeling good and the level is good enough at the moment," De Bruyne added.

 

February 13, 2024