EPL 2022-23: Pep Guardiola in awe of Kevin De Bruyne's goal vs Bournemouth

Defending champion Manchester City is off to a thumping start in the English Premier League (EPL) 2022-23. In Matchday 2 on Saturday, it hosted Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium and rode to a comfortable 4-0 win. The goal-scorers for the Cityzens happened to be Ilkay Gündogan (19), Kevin De Bruyne (31), Phil Foden (37), while Jefferson Lerma (79) scored an own goal. However, De Bruyne's goal caught everyone's attention, including club head coach Pep Guardiola, who was in awe of it and hailed him as a great player, recalling how good he was back in Wolfsburg and his evolution.

"When I was in Munich, [De Bruyne] played in Wolfsburg, and I think he was the best player in the Bundesliga. Kevin was an outstanding player before our arrival, was good with us and will be after us. I was in his line for the goal he has done, and I said 'no space' with this type of shot he scores. The assist for Phil came from him, so he did well," said Guardiola after the convincing victory, reports Manchester Evening News.

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"I don't know the numbers. The last season was the most prolific in terms of goals. It is crucial for us, not just Julian [Alvarez] and Erling [Haaland] get the goals. As much Riyad [Mahrez], Kevin, Phil [Foden], and even Bernardo [Silva] can score - it is essential," Guardiola added.

"We have more space for our strikers. The strikers create a movement for our attacking midfielders. Kevin, before last season, was assist, assist, and now, he is the pleasure to score goals. Important he scored again," explained Guardiola. As for the match, he stated, "We start well, we did three or four corners in six or seven minutes, we had chances and after we score one and two and second half when they don't want to press we have to be patient. We make an excellent performance."