Manchester City kicked off their 2020/21 Premier League season with a narrow 3-1 victory away at Wolves, with Kevin De Bruyne emerging as the man of the match.
📷 De Bruyne: Match Snapshot
From the get-go Manchester City looked sharp and hungry, relentlessly pressing Wolves high up the pitch to force errors out of the backline.
It would be a burst of pace down the right wing into the box from De Bruyne that would earn City a penalty 20 minutes in.
⚽ ⏱️ 20' The Belgian would dust himself off to take the spotkick, sending an emphatic finish into the right corner.
Throughout the rest of the game, the Belgian was imperious in the middle of the pitch, constantly spraying balls to the wings and threading passes into the channels.
We also saw another aspect of his game which sometimes gets forgotten as he continually ran in behind the Wolves defence to latch on to lofted balls forward. It was via one of these balls which led to another chance for him to score, only for Rui Patricio to make the solid save from his left-footed strike.
A ⏱️ 95' With the game on a knife-edge in the latter stages at 2-1, De Bruyne would eventually assist the third goal for City to make it 3-1. It was probably the least technical assist he'll earn this season, though, as his awkward touch was collected by Jesus to slam a strike home.
Wolves 1-3 Man City: Player Ratings, Match Statistics, Player Statistics
De Bruyne enjoyed 102 touches of the ball which was only bettered in this round of Premier League fixtures by Bruno Fernandes of Man Utd.
Thirty-six of his passes were sent into the final third, which, again, was only better by Bruno Fernandes who completed 53.
He won 8/12 duels, completed six crosses, and also made an impressive nine ball recoveries.
〽️ De Bruyne: Rating Week-on-Week
✔️ IMPROVEMENT
De Bruyne gained an assist and earned a 7.6 FC Rating for Belgium as they defeated Iceland 5-1 in the Nations League.
Against Wolves, he simply ran the show, and scored a 8.8 FC Rating.
🗝️ Key Stats
De Bruyne match stats
| Statistic | Value | Notes |
| FC Rating | 8.8 | FC Man of the Match |
| Mins Played | 90 | |
| Touches | 102 | Rank #1 |
| Passes | 61 | |
| Final Third Passes | 36 | Rank #1 |
| Shots | 4 | |
| Goals | 1 | |
| Assists | 1 |
De Bruyne: What Next?
If Manchester City can keep De Bruyne fit, he remains their most potent weapon in trying to bring down Liverpool. If he is in the kind of form that he was against Wolves, he is the best player in the league.
Next up in the Premier League, City welcome Leicester to the Etihad.
Kevin De Bruyne 
Man City 
Wolves 
