Manchester City‘s Kevin De Bruyne sparked a late-comeback 3-2 victory for his side at Newcastle United on Saturday in his first Premier League game since the opening day of the season.
The influential midfielder — out since August because of a hamstring injury — came off the bench in the 69th minute with City trailing 2-1 and equalised with a clinical low finish.
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He then played the perfect pass in stoppage time for fellow substitute Oscar Bobb to secure the three points that moved champions City into second place, two points behind Liverpool.
Bernardo Silva, the man De Bruyne replaced, had given City a 26th-minute lead with a sublime close-range finish but Pep Guardiola’s side were soon rocked back on their heels.
Alexander Isak curled in an equaliser in the 35th minute, and Anthony Gordon sent the home fans wild with an almost identical finish two minutes later.
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But De Bruyne came on and inspired City to victory, and his return will be a welcome one for teammates and fans.
“I missed this. It is what it is, I had a big injury and I needed the time. I enjoyed myself. I think it was more willpower than anything else. It was crazy,” De Bruyne told TNT Sports.
“I know I’m not able to do that for 90 minutes at the moment. I can put in a shift for 30 minutes at the moment. I feel it in my lungs, especially with the cold.
“It’s great to score the goal. The ball is good, but the run from Oscar [Bobb] is amazing. It was top from him. I look at his run. If he doesn’t run then I can’t pass the ball.
“I think to come here is always difficult. Everyone was really happy for me. We want to try and compete for the league again. We are up there. It was a tough game.”
City boss Guardiola was pleased with his side’s fighting spirit as well as De Bruyne’s return.
“That was really good, sometimes it is better winning that way for the team, for everything. Incredible team, the way we played with a huge personality. They showed me they want to be there, to fight until the end, that they want to retain the title,” Guardiola told the BBC.
“I am a little bit upset and grumpy with [De Bruyne] because he didn’t score from the free kick! When opponents are more tired, Kevin and Oscar provide another pace at the end.
“Oscar’s was a fantastic goal for the control. We were really impressed in preseason, I knew from information for the second team he was special.
“When Kevin has the ball and we have runners, Kevin is unique in the world, but the finish by Oscar — I am so, so happy for him.”
City have 43 points from 20 games with Liverpool on 45, while Newcastle’s fourth successive defeat left them 10th in the standings.