De Bruyne is widely acknowledged to be one of the best midfielders in the world, and owing to this, it is unsurprising that Belgium manager Roberto Martinez relies heavily on his influence to win his side’s matches.
Prior to the ongoing international break, the 30-year-old was unsurprisingly called up by his country as the Red Devils in their hunt for UEFA Nations League glory ahead of their semi-final tie against France..
Despite heading into half-time with a 2-0 lead, in which both goals were assisted by De Bruyne, Belgium fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Didier Deschamps’ side, and consequently, Belgium were compelled to compete in a third-place play-off clash against Italy.
When fit, Kevin De Bruyne is among the best players in the Premier League and accordingly, the two-time PFA Player of the Year’s tendency to sustain injuries, particularly whilst on international duty, has become a source of frustration for many City fans in recent seasons.
However, owing to the reduced importance of Sunday afternoon’s match against Italy, Roberto Martinez opted to bench De Bruyne, and the decision prompted many City fans to rejoice over the fact that their star player would hence avoid a potentially debilitating injury.
Following on from the announcement that De Bruyne would not start the game against Italy, a host of Sky Blues were unified in their relief that the master midfielder was left out of the starting XI.
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