The Belgian midfielder powered home a stunning 70th minute winner to seal a hard-fought but deserved win at the Etihad.
It was our 12th straight Premier League success and made it a notable Premier League double over Thomas Tuchel’s side following our 1-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge in September.
And reflecting on this latest success, De Bruyne said it was a just reward for City’s application and big game management.
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“It was a big game, and they came here with a good plan, they were tight defensively, but we played a good game,” De Bruyne reflected.
“It’s nice to to score, it was important as it was the only one. We knew if we won, we would make the gap bigger.
“We have been in this situation before, things can change and momentum can change. The team was focused on what we could do today.
“(In terms of the goal) I got away from N’Golo Kante at the right time, I was looking at the space and they were dropping off, I found the angle and it worked perfectly.
“It’s always difficult against them they are tight defensively, know what they are doing and you have to be patient. We played the game we needed to play and did what we had to do.
“They can be very dangerous, it was a very hard game, people on both sides coming back from COVID and not much training.”
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However, though this latest victory saw City further stretch our advantage at the top of table ahead of Liverpool’s game with Brentford tomorrow, the Belgian said no-one was taking anything for granted.
And he insisted there would be no change in focus or approach from the City squad.
“They (Chelsea) need to be almost perfect, there is another team dangling there, so we need to keep momentum,” KDB added.
“We need to keep doing what we have been doing and win each game by game.”
