Every Manchester City supporter wanted the opportunity to celebrate one final Kevin De Bruyne goal or assist at the Etihad Stadium but they were denied it by an almost unbelievable open goal miss.
Instead they were treated to Omar Marmoush performing a tribute act to the Belgian, rifling in a goal-of-the-season contender against Bournemouth to move his team one step closer to Champions League qualification.
The party was well and truly in full swing but Marmoush increased the volume with a stunning 30-yard strike. Bernardo Silva and Nico González, De Bruyne’s replacement after Mateo Kovacic was sent off, finished the job to move City up to third but the day was all about De Bruyne as he waved goodbye to the City home support, who will get a statue by which to remember him. He means a lot to fans and his impact on the club was shown by Pep Guardiola crying during the post‑match commemorations.
De Bruyne started in his 421st appearance for the club with the captain’s armband, and was accompanied by his three children when he walked out of the tunnel to be greeted by a 60ft tifo depicting his image. This was his day but there was business to be done.
It never seemed likely that the post-match lap of honour from De Bruyne would be anticlimatic. After failing to score in their past two matches, City’s duck was broken with a De Bruyne-esque rocket into the top corner. The firepower, however, was not provided by the Belgian but instead Marmoush, who used a pocket of space to his advantage, getting the ball out of his feet and smashing a shot that dipped and swerved, bringing gasps before igniting the atmosphere.
The moment everyone had been waiting for came in the 25th minute when Marmoush burst down the left and slid a pass along the six‑yard line to De Bruyne to tap into an empty net. In his previous 141 Premier League home games for City, he would have completed the task with eyes closed. On this occasion, his focus went for a split second and he somehow pinged the ball against the bar.
De Bruyne walked away head in hands, knowing he would never receive a better chance for the perfect finish. “It was terrible, terrible,” De Bruyne said of the miss. “There are no excuses. My son is going to be very hard on me today.”
Silva made up for the rare slip of the foot from De Bruyne to double the lead and City were in control from then on. The only time it was questioned came when Kovacic was dismissed for pulling back Evanilson but the one-man deficit lasted minutes because Lewis Cook saw red for a reckless challenge on González, who went on to score a fine solo goal.
There was a notable return for Rodri off the bench – his first appearance since sustaining ligament damage in September – on a night of positives for City, not tainted by Daniel Jebbison’s late consolation.
De Bruyne’s child and wife joined him for a guard of honour from colleagues and chants of: “There’s only one Kevin De Bruyne.” He was asked to say a few words in the centre circle but struggled to hold back his emotion as Guardiola shed a tear watching on.
A video of former teammates, family and friends was shown to the crowd to moisten eyes. Like on the pitch throughout his time at City, De Bruyne was able to find his composure when it mattered. “It is time to say goodbye. We love you and I will see you soon,” he said.
“Manchester is home. Manchester is where these little kids were born. I came here with my wife, Michele, to stay here for a long time. I didn’t expect to be here 10 years to do what we have as a club, supporters, my teammates. We won everything. We made the city, the club bigger.”
The decade is coming to an end, De Bruyne leaves with six Premier League titles, one Champions League winner’s medal and supporters with a lifetime of memories. “It is a sad day, he will be missed, there is no doubt about that,” Guardiola said.
The final act will come on Sunday at Fulham where he can give the next generation the best platform to repeat his feats. “It’s been unbelievable, to have the 10 years that I had. It’s been an unbelievable ride,” De Bruyne said. “I wanted to have fun and we had a lot of fun these 10 years.”
No one inside the Etihad Stadium was arguing with him.
