3 key battles that decided the Manchester City vs Liverpool UEFA Champions League 2nd leg encounter

Manchester City v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg
City initially took the lead

#2 Kevin De Bruyne vs the Liverpool midfield

De Bruyne was City's best player on the night - the whole match, to be honest
De Bruyne was City's best player on the night - the whole match, to be honest

Kevin De Bruyne has been Manchester City's star performer throughout the season, and the Belgian proved just why with a big performance in a big game, and was unlucky to end up on the losing side.

City ended up dominating the midfield for the entire first half, and it was mainly because of De Bruyne. For someone who doesn't look very strong, his physicality on the ball is immense and he used it to both protect the ball from Liverpool and launch attacks.

Alexander Oxlade-Chamberlain could not replace his heroics in the first leg and was kept off the ball ably by both Fernandinho and De Bruyne. Milner and Wijnaldum, both defensive midfielders, went even deeper to help out the team in defense owing to City's pressure on the ball.

But De Bruyne's best feature of the night was his distribution, where he served as the link between the left and right wings as the anchor in the middle. Though City's energy faded away in the second half, the few chances they produced still came through his feet.

With the world cup coming up, Belgium will depend a lot on their midfield to dismantle the opposition and at the heart of it will undoubtedly be Kevin De Bruyne.

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