Premier League goal Milestones – Kevin De Bruyne

It must be a special moment for any player to score their 50th Premier League goal, but for Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, the match that brought him the half-century could hardly have gone any better.

kevin de bruyne celebrates goal against lyon

Reaching the milestone in a 4-1 derby drubbing of Manchester United was just the latest highlight in the remarkable Premier League career of the Belgian maestro. Now into his seventh season in England, the midfielder has become one of the very best in the world without question, boasting three Premier League titles and back-to-back PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards amongst a swathe of individual and team honours.

One of the best strikers of the ball around, De Bruyne is known for his lethal finishing from distance, and has scored so many fantastic goals down the years that it’s difficult to narrow down his best strikes. But from his first 50 in Manchester City colours, here are our picks for five of De Bruyne’s most iconic goals.

Five the best goals by Kevin De Bruyne in Premier League

First goal: Vs West Ham United (19th September 2015)

The memory of De Bruyne returning to the Premier League amidst a mixed reception from commentators and pundits feels like a very distant memory now, but that’s how it was when he joined City for a then-club record fee from Wolfsburg in 2015. However, it didn’t take long for the former Chelsea man to showcase his quality.

Receiving a nice around-the-corner pass from Sergio Aguero against West Ham, De Bruyne steadied himself before driving a low shot past Adrian to register a first Premier League goal on his home debut.

But whilst the goal itself was an early snippet of De Bruyne’s remarkable talent, the occasion, unfortunately, didn’t match the finish as City fell to a 2-1 home defeat against West Ham on the day.

50th goal: Vs Manchester United (6th March 2022)

Despite the obvious gap in quality between the two halves of Manchester these days, the Derby has been something of a banana peel for City in recent years, who have often struggled at home against United.

It wasn’t to be the case this time though, as De Bruyne inspired City to an emphatic win with a clinical brace. It was his early strike that took him to 50 Premier League goals, with a pretty straightforward finish.

A nice bit of work from City down the left ended with a low cross from Bernardo Silva, and an unmarked De Bruyne arrived just 12 yards out to hammer a shot past David De Gea with his left foot.

A fine opening goal in a brilliant big-game performance to help City achieve a crucial and galvanizing win.

Best goal: Vs Leicester City (18th November 2017)

Amidst a sea of long range pile drivers and pinpoint top corner strikes, picking out the very best of De Bruyne’s 50 Premier League goals is no easy task. His effort against Leicester during City’s remarkable 2017/18 campaign, however, perhaps just about squeaks first place ahead of the rest.

Receiving the ball outside the Leicester penalty area, De Bruyne shifted the ball onto his left side before hitting a rocket of a shot straight past Kasper Schmeichel and into the top corner to put his side 2-0 up on the road.

It was a stunning goal by any player’s standards, but to hit a shot like that on your weak foot is truly outstanding.

Most important goal: Vs Chelsea (30th September 2017)

Having once been on Chelsea’s books in the early days of his career, De Bruyne seems to enjoy reminding his former club of the mistake they made in selling him, having netted more Premier League goals against them than any other side. But of his five strikes against The Blues, it was his first one back in 2017 that stands out as the most important in his entire City career.

In a titanic clash against the-then champions back in the 2017/18 season, De Bruyne exchanged a slick 1-2 with Gabriel Jesus before smashing a shot past international teammate Thibaut Courtois from outside the box, once again on his weaker left side.

The sublime strike silenced Stamford Bridge and proved to be enough for City, who left London with a 1-0 scoreline and one of their most valuable ever victories under Pep Guardiola. It turned out to be the lightbulb moment that ignited Manchester City’s remarkable Centurions season, a priceless early step in their road to becoming eventual champions.

Most memorable goal: Vs Newcastle United (30th November 2019)

In truth, De Bruyne’s strike against Chelsea could easily have filled this category as well. But for his most memorable goal at City, we can easily pick another stunner that is every bit as impressive.

The 2019/20 season ended up being not only the first in which the Belgian would scoop the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, but also his best goalscoring season to date, with 13 goals in the Premier League. Of these, his exquisite and much-replayed half-volley against Newcastle stands out as the pick of the bunch. Chesting down a loose ball just outside the Newcastle box, De Bruyne waited for it to sit up and rifled an exquisite half-volley into the net via the underside of the bar.

Although it came in a frustrating match and ultimately a frustrating season for Manchester City, that small piece of brilliance almost perfectly embodied what we’ve come to expect from De Bruyne down the years, with a goal that is probably re-watched about as much as any other he has netted in sky blue.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *