Kevin De Bruyne admits he could not have envisaged the impact he would make on his Premier League return from injury after scoring and then setting up the winner as Man City came from behind to win 3-2 against Newcastle.
Goals from Aleksandr Isak and Anthony Gordon had put Newcastle 2-1 up after Bernardo Silva had opened the scoring.
But the Belgian made his first Premier League appearance since the opening day of the season off the bench having missed the past five months with a serious hamstring injury, scoring a fabulous equaliser before picking out Oscar Bobb with a trademark ball over the top to grab the winner.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, he said: “It was crazy. I missed this, but it is what it is. I had a big injury and I needed the time but I enjoyed myself and I worked hard.
“To come here in this stadium and this environment, I think it was more willpower than anything else, but it was crazy.
“I think it’s more willpower than sharpness. I know I’m not able to do that for 90 minutes at the moment but I know I can put in a shift for 20 or 25 minutes at full pace.
“I feel it in my lungs with the cold but it can’t be any better than this.
“I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve never experienced this in 14 years that I’ve been playing football (being out for so long).
“I worked really hard, I tried to change a couple of things because I had the time and being able to change something, when you’re playing all the time, is very difficult.
“But I think I’ve found a couple of things and hopefully I can maintain that.”
