Kevin de Bruyne has stated that Manchester City played ‘incredibly well’ especially given the manner in which Leeds United press following their 7-0 thrashing on Tuesday night, as he told BT Sport.
The Manchester City midfielder shared that his team ‘found the right time’ to beat Leeds’ press and then go forward and ‘punish’ them.
Last season, Leeds took four points off the Premier League champions, including beating a 2-1 win, with ten men, at the Etihad.
But it was a completely different story this time around because they were 3-0 down by half-time and the game was already finished.
De Bruyne netted a brace during the game upon his return to the starting XI, including a stunning effort from distance that was too quick for Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier to handle.
Nonetheless, this was de Bruyne’s verdict after the game and his comments on being patient early on with this Leeds side.
“I think we played incredibly well, especially the way they press,” said de Bruyne. “I think we found the right time to attack them.
“Obviously, when it’s 3 or 4-0 up, it gets tougher for them and they tried to keep it a little bit more tight in the second half. But I think we had enough chances to score a lot more.
“We found the right time. We were very patient in the beginning and then, at the right times, we found the gaps to go forward and we punished them.
“Then it makes the game incredibly tough for them, afterwards.”
Leeds simply can’t afford to look at the negatives during this game, even though the performance was unacceptable, because it was just an abject evening of football on their part and one they have to put to one side.
This is where Leeds will be wanting to get back on the field as soon as possible and letting their football do the talking.
It’s a home clash against Arsenal on Saturday and the perfect response will be to secure three points and a clean sheet.
But just like the Manchester City game, Marcelo Bielsa is without a number of key players and that won’t change any time soon.
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