Kevin De Bruyne warned Manchester City to take a measured approach to their Champions League moment of truth against Real Madrid, saying: “You don’t have to go crazy.”. City face the European Cup holders at the Etihad on Tuesday night after needing the Belgian sorcerer’s late winner to scrape past Leyton Orient and reach the FA Cup fifth round. But De Bruyne is calm about the repeat of last season’s quarter-final classic, where Real edged through on penalties - and says City have only themselves to blame for needing the play-off repechage after a poor campaign in the league phase.
He said: “I have played against Madrid in basically every round from the second to the semi-final in the last 10 years. We know why we play these games - because we didn’t do well enough before. That is it. At this level, it’s always (about) small margins. We know it’s a big game, the quality is there for both teams. It’s a two-legged tie so you don’t have to go crazy.”. De Bruyne, 33, has won 14 major honours with City, including six titles, and he added another feather to his plumage at Orient. Since making his FA Cup debut nine years ago, no player has been involved ins more goals in the competition than KDB’s 26 (nine goals, 17 assists).
He laughed: “Yes, but I have been here for 10 years so I probably played longer than a lot of players! Like Leyton Orient, I always try to respect the opponent, try to do my job. It doesn’t matter who we play. We just needed to take the game honestly.”. De Bruyne is out of contract at the end of the season and there are still no puffs of white smoke above the Etihad to announce a new deal. He is in much the same boat as Liverpool trio Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold at old title foes Liverpool, but he said: “There’s not a lot I can say because not a lot is happening.
“Of course, we are in a similar situation because we are probably about the same age, all three of us - Trent is maybe different - and we play for good teams. You wait for these moments and we try to control what you can control. But for the moment, there’s not a lot in it.”. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
