Played in by Yaya Toure, he burst forward in the 23rd minute only for his Belgium team-mate Courtois to stand up well and divert his shot wide.
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Chelsea striker Diego Costa conceded the ball inside the hosts’ penalty area, and De Bruyne took advantage, motoring to the halfway line where he squared to Samir Nasri.
Only a brilliant last-ditch challenge from Gary Cahill prevented Aguero pulling the trigger again following another smart exchange with the live-wire De Bruyne.
Signed by City for roughly triple that amount last summer, De Bruyne has proven himself to be excellent value for money ever since.
He nipped the ball passed Cesc Fabregas before freeing Nasri, whose pinpoint pass allowed Aguero to convert his second of the afternoon.
Following Courtois’ red card, for naively bringing down Fernandinho as the Brazilian broke through on goal, and the consequent penalty which beat Begovic to secure Aguero’s hat-trick, Stamford Bridge started to empty out.
Manchester City’s attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said that former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had been “unfair” during the Belgian’s time at Chelsea.
The Argentine’s hat-trick took his tally to 21 league goals for the season.
That rotation has paid off as City have since won the Capital One Cup and progressed through to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
“People who know me, know it’s not the truth”. Before Saturday, De Bruyne’s 1,643 league minutes accounted for a participation in 57% of Manchester City’s league season. They played better than us and we weren’t able to score when we were dominating and that makes it harder to win matches. Chelsea are rightly in mid-table and could not leapfrog Stoke with a largely insipid display.
City, however, might be just getting going. “I think it was a good game for all the team and today we deserved the win”.
De Bruyne’s 2.4 key passes and 3.3 chances created per game eclipse the marks set by all four Chelsea players.
It is not an exaggeration to say De Bruyne is destroying Louis van Gaal’s Champions League ambitions- and arguably his hopes of keeping the Manchester United job – nearly on his own. A starter in the next game for sure. “They outplayed us on 60-70 yard counters”.
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City’s win against Chelsea moved Manuel Pellegrini’s side into third place – 12 points behind Leicester with five games to go – although Arsenal can retake third spot should they win their game in hand against Crystal Palace tomorrow.
