Pep Guardiola, Manchester City's manager, shared unfortunate news for fans after their Premier League opener at Burnley, revealing that star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is set to be sidelined for "a few weeks." This came after Manchester City's commanding 3-0 victory over Burnley, which saw Erling Haaland net two goals in the first half and Rodri sealing the deal in the second.
However, this triumphant start to their title defence was overshadowed by De Bruyne's exit in the 23rd minute. Guardiola expressed his concerns, saying, “Hamstring again. Same position. It depends on the magnitude of the injury, but will be a few weeks out.”
De Bruyne's recent hamstring injury had only just healed from last season, which led him to participate in the Champions League final in June, but he had to leave after 36 minutes into the game. On being queried about the quick return of the Belgian star to the pitch, Guardiola admitted, “Maybe. Maybe it was my mistake, but when he is injured after 15-20 minutes it is not something wrong, when it is 65 it is the fatigue of the muscle.”
He further empathized with De Bruyne's sentiments, acknowledging his dedication and resilience, “He is down. He fought a lot. The final of the Champions League. He felt really good. I prefer to start and make 50-55 minutes. He is disappointed, but he is strong and will be back.”
An animated discussion between Guardiola and Haaland became the talk of the match. Elucidating on this, Guardiola explained, “We discuss a lot. Erling wanted the ball immediately and Bernardo (Silva) don’t give it, it was one minute left and 0-2. I understand Erling, he wanted the ball, but Bernardo took the right decision.”
Former City captain, Vincent Kompany, now in charge of Burnley, remains optimistic about the newly promoted team, saying, “It is progress again. This team has to be the worst it is ever going to be this season, at this moment in time."
Kompany further commented on the red card given to Anass Zaroury, emphasizing, “The crowd has always been behind us. I wish we could’ve turned the momentum again in the last 20 minutes and created some more danger, but with the red card the game kind of settled." He remained hopeful, asserting that Burnley had what it took to leave a mark on the score sheet.
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