Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has given an exclusive interview to ESPN Brasil ahead of the Manchester derby. The Belgian midfielder talked about the match, the opponents, the rivalry around it… but refused to comment on certain matters.
Asked if an making an assist is as good as scoring a goal, the 25-year-old said: “Yeah, maybe sometimes it’s even better. If you get to create a good chance or a great pass for a goal, it’s almost the same feeling as scoring the goal, in the end everything is about winning, so if you can win in the end, it doesn’t matter in which way.”
“So they can speak for half a year against the other team (laughs), bad words probably. But yeah, obviously, as a player, if you win this game it’s a big boost for the supporters.”
De Bruyne is confident Manchester City will impose their own game at Old Trafford, and not try to adapt to the style of their opponents: “Manchester United is one of the bigger teams in England. They want to play for titles, we want to play for titles. It’s a different dimension. We have to be confident in the way we’re playing, try not to adapt in the way they are playing. But obviously you have to see how the circumstances go in the game.”
The midfielder was also questioned on whether Manchester United are much stronger than last season: “Yeah, I think so. They’ve had a few very good additions. They just play better as a unit than last year. But I think we’re trying to do the same, so it hopefully will be a nice game on a good level.”
ESPN mention that De Bruyne had his first spell in England at Chelsea, but was sold to Wolfsburg after not having enough chances under José Mourinho at the Stamford Bridge. However, Manchester City asked the reporter no to talk about the Portuguese manager, since the player wants to avoid controversy.
