MANCHESTER: The 196th Manchester Derby will be the last for longtime Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, who announced this week he will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
De Bruyne will compete for the 22nd time in a City shirt against the club’s crosstown rival in a Sunday clash at Manchester United’s Old Trafford. The match also will have European implications for the Cityzens (15-9-6, 51 points).
The 33-year-old Belgian has three goals and six assists against the Red Devils (10-13-7, 37 points) across those previous 21 fixtures, with seven of those goal involvements coming in Premier League meetings.
That record speaks to a greater legacy as a foundational piece of City’s growth into a titan of English and European football. The midfielder played on six of the 10 City sides that have won league titles in club history, 13 of its 25 major domestic honors including the FA Cup and League Cup, and its only UEFA Champions League title-winning team in 2022-23.
“There’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest for sure,” manager Pep Guardiola said Friday. “The consistency in important games and not important games, every three days being there all the time. There’s no doubt.
“His assists, goals, vision in (the) final third is so difficult to replace.”
De Bruyne’s injury problems over the past two seasons are a major reason the club looks set to finally relinquish its four-year hold on the league title. City enter the weekend in fifth, all but mathematically eliminated from the title chase, but only one point back of Chelsea for a top-four finish and another guaranteed Champions League berth.
Similarly, United also have lagged expectations this season and are still mired in 13th place, nowhere close to relegation danger but well outside of contention for Europe.
The Red Devils have had almost no production from their forward. Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes leads the side with eight goals, and among strikers, Ivorian Amad Diallo has been the most proficient with six goals and six assists.
And although manager Ruben Amorim has engineered some promising stretches, including a four-match unbeaten league run prior to Tuesday’s loss to Nottingham Forest, he would trade places with City in a heartbeat.
“I think we have bigger problems than Manchester City,” Amorim said. “They had that run in that moment — but they improved. They can play in different ways, it is really hard to think how they can face us. They have maybe the best coach in the world. They have top players. But I am so focused on my team.”
City’s Kevin De Bruyne set for last clash vs. Manchester United
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City’s Kevin De Bruyne set for last clash vs. Manchester United
- De Bruyne will compete for the 22nd time in a City shirt against the club’s crosstown rival
- The 33-year-old Belgian has three goals and six assists against the Red Devils (10-13-7, 37 points) across those previous 21 fixtures
Palestine, Syria celebrate reaching Arab Cup quarter-finals
- Both nations knew a draw in their final Group A match would secure Palestine top spot with Syria progressing in second place
DOHA: Celebrations erupted on the pitch and in the stands in Doha on Sunday when both Palestine and Syria made it through to the Arab Cup quarter-finals following a 0-0 draw.
For both sides, reaching the knockout stage in the regional tournament hosted by Qatar was magnified by the all-too recent memory of conflict in their homelands.
Only weeks ago in Gaza, the war sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel came to a halt under a fragile ceasefire plan brokered by the United States.
For the Syrian side, the game came on the eve of the anniversary of the ousting of Bashar Assad, who unleashed years of war with his crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Both nations knew a draw in their final Group A match would secure Palestine top spot with Syria progressing in second place.
Even ahead of the final whistle, around 40,000 fans packing the Education City Stadium began dancing and chanting to celebrate the two sides’ entry into the last eight.
And at the end of the game, players on the pitch swapped jerseys and posed for photographs together, as the squads’ coaches embraced each other.
“We are very happy to top the group, which included two great teams like Qatar and Tunisia, and we congratulate all Palestinian fans,” said Palestine striker Oday Dabbagh.
“We played to win, especially after learning about Tunisia’s lead over Qatar, but we lacked the final touch in front of the goal... The most important thing is that we qualified.”
Palestine coach Ehab Abu Jazar paid tribute to his mother, who along with his brother and other loved ones had to flee her home and now lives in a tent in Gaza.
“She has a lot of experience with sports, and she told me to play carefully,” he told AFP.
Syrian striker Mahmoud Al-Mawas said the result “means a lot to Syrians because it coincides with the Liberation Day celebrations...
“Now, all our focus will be on the quarter-final.”
At a cafe in the Syrian capital, Damascus, 30-year-old Wafa Durri watched the game, with her country’s flag adorning her right cheek.
“I had never supported the national team, but after the liberation everything changed, and now I support it with all my heart,” she said.
