The Belgian opened the scoring after just 10 minutes, coolly slotting into the bottom left corner from a difficult angle.
The hosts levelled against the run of play through Magnus Mattsson but we went into the interval ahead after the ball ricocheted off De Bruyne and into the path of Bernardo Silva, who expertly flicked into the net.
De Bruyne provided his second assist of the evening at Parken Stadium deep into second half stoppage time, finding the onrushing Phil Foden to blast in our third.
De Bruyne was pleased with the control shown by Pep Guardiola‘s men in hostile circumstances.
“Obviously it’s tough. We played here a couple of times and the atmosphere is great and they’re going to try to do everything,” he said.
“They had a great group stage too so we had to respect them. We started really well, we made one mistake and they pounced on it.
“I think we actually played a really good game. I think the second half we created many chances and we could have scored more, luckily in the end we scored the third one so it is a little bit of an advantage now.
“It’s always important [early goal] because it makes the atmosphere a little less. We were in control.
“In the goal I was looking for Erling [Haaland] but it was covered really well so I tried to slot it in the back post and it went in.
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“We try to minimise the mistakes. Okay it happened now but then we tried to go on. The second half we dominated again. We found the chances and did what we needed to do.”
De Bruyne, who was named Player of the Match after an inspiring display, now has 21 goal involvements in his last 22 UEFA Champions League knockout games.
He also has nine goal involvements across all competitions since returning from injury in early January, scoring twice and assisting seven times.
“I’m just trying to play good football and enjoy myself,” he said. “It’s been a long six months but I’m happy to be back helping the team to win games and try to do my best.
“I feel alright, I think I still need a few more games and minutes. I’ve not played 90 minutes, I think with the Brentford game was almost a year, so it’s a long time.
“I’m getting there, I’m feeling good. The level is good enough for the moment so I’m happy.”
