Kevin De Bruyne explaining the exact science behind his goal proves he sees the game differently to all of us

Kevin De Bruyne's explanation of his goal against Newcastle shows just how differently to everyone else the Manchester City star sees football.

City fans have been unable to watch De Bruyne this season after he picked up a serious hamstring injury in the opening game of the Premier League season.

While the Belgian midfielder underwent surgery and months of rehabilitation, City's struggled to pick opponents apart with their usual ease.

That said, title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal have failed to take advantage of City's mixed form, meaning Pep Guardiola's side are just two points off the top of the table.

De Bruyne made his return from injury last weekend in City's FA Cup defeat of Huddersfield, and on Saturday he enjoyed a dream return to Premier League action.

With City trailing 2-1 to Newcastle United at St James' Park, the 32-year-old came off the bench with 20 minutes left to play. Five minutes into his cameo he drew City level with a superb strike, before setting up City's inury-time winner with an audacious pass.

De Bruyne's strike went through the legs of defender Fabian Schar on its way into the bottom corner of the goal, and after the match he was asked by a journalist whether or not that was intentional.

"It's not coincidental, it's well thought out," he replied. "I see with the move that I make that Julian [Alvarez] goes to the right [hand-side], and he takes [Sven] Botman with him and I see that Schar is making himself as big as possible because it's one-on-one.

Kevin De Bruyne celebrates with Pep Guardiola after the final whistle. Image: Getty

"So in my head his legs are wide open, so of course I tried to shoot through the legs and then it went into the corner perfectly, so yeah, it was conscious."

De Bruyne then clarified that he effectively used Schar as a shield.

"Yeah, it's very tough, it's very difficult for the goalkeeper to respond. That's why I took it on the inside of my foot and try to focus on precision because otherwise it wouldn't work."

City fans were certainly impressed by the midfielder's analysis.

"Never seen anyone as clever and quick thinking as him in football," one fan said on X, while another tweeted: "that’s why I love him, he uses his brain to play football, not only his body." Another simply said: "I love KDB's footballing brain."

For anyone who thought that De Bruyne wouldn't be as good post-injury, the City star sent the perfect message.

Topics: Fan Reactions, Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne, Newcastle United, Premier League, Pep Guardiola

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton