Kevin De Bruyne’s new milestone proves he is Manchester City’s UCL knockout GOAT

Kevin De Bruyne again rescued Manchester City from defeat in the UEFA Champions League with a sensational long-range strike to ensure the match against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu ended honours-even, reaching a new milestone in the process. 

Manchester City found themselves under the cosh in the second half of their semifinal first leg against Real Madrid after going a goal down to Vinicius Junior’s remarkable effort, but rallied against a quality Real Madrid team backed by the Bernabeu crowd to find an equaliser. 

The goal came from none other than Manchester City’s brilliant Belgian De Bruyne, who unleashed a rocket in the 67th minute to rescue a first-leg draw for the Cityzens. 

The goal against Real Madrid was De Bruyne’s 11th UEFA Champions League knockout goal for Manchester City, making him the club’s top scorer in the competition's history in knockout games. 

Despite being accused of ghosting in big games in the Champions League, De Bruyne’s record clearly proves otherwise, especially as this is his second goal for the Cityzens against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. 

De Bruyne also showed his outstanding shooting prowess from outside the box, netting his seventh goal in the UCL from outside the box, reaching yet another European milestone. 

The goal against Real Madrid, De Bruyne’s 14th in the Champions League with Manchester City, was his 7th from outside the box, meaning that he has scored the highest proportion of his goals from outside the penalty area than any other player to have scored 10 or more goals in the UCL. 

De Bruyne’s ability to unlock defences with a good ol’ piledriver came in handy for a Manchester City team that was unable to create clear chances against Real Madrid. 

The Cityzens will be hoping that he is able to stay fit ahead of the crucial second leg in a week’s time after he suffered a minor injury recently that kept him out of action for 10 days.