Kevin De Bruyne is expecting a re-run of the breathless 2019 title race that went right down to the final day of the season. The Manchester City ace scored twice as the Blues blew away Manchester United 4-1 to restore the six-point lead at the top - a lead that will be trimmed to just three, if Liverpool win their game in hand, away at Arsenal, next week.
City won the last 14 games of that campaign to first of all overhaul Liverpool at the top and then stay ahead as the Merseysiders won their last nine to take it down to the wire. At the same stage in 2019, City were just one point ahead, but one big difference this time is that the two teams will meet during the run-in, a huge clash at the Etihad Stadium on April 10.
De Bruyne says he and his City teammates are steeling themselves for a repeat of that thrilling chase, which ended with the Blues clinching the title with a 4-1 win at Brighton after briefly going behind. Asked if there are parallels between the two seasons, De Bruyne said: “I’d say it looks similar for the moment.
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“It’s never been that far away. I would say that Liverpool were further away at that time than us. Both teams have been doing so well – but we push each other. We’re both great teams”
The April showdown is already being built up as a title decider but de Bruyne cautioned against that - knowing that slip-ups by either team before then could change the complexion of that fixture.
Asked if the meeting with Jurgen Klopp’s team could be decisive, De Bruyne said: “Yeah it could be but it’s so far away – there’s a lot of important games in between. A lot can change between now and then – we can lose games or they can. So I’m not necessarily watching out now for that game.
“It never stops does It – but its good. We push each other to be the best version we can be. All we can do as a team and as individuals we can only try to win every game. Hopefully in the end we’ll win it but there’s still a long way to go.”
De Bruyne admitted he was tempted to tune in as Liverpool edged to a 1-0 win over West Ham on the eve of the derby, but says he does not religiously watch their only remaining title rivals when they play.
“Sometimes yes but sometimes no – it depends on the situation,” he said. “On Saturday I was at home so I saw the second half. In the end we need to concentrate on what we do. We have an eye on them but it’s what it is and we just do what we have to do.”
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