Pep Guardiola insisted Kevin De Bruyne has nothing to prove to anyone as the outgoing Manchester City star continued his fine run of form with the only goal in a 1-0 win over Wolves.
De Bruyne is due to leave the Etihad this summer following a decade at the club after City bosses decided not to offer the 33-year-old a new contract.
Since the news was announced De Bruyne has put in some eye-catching performances, and did so again to settle a tight contest against in-form Wolves, who hit the post through both Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
After the game De Bruyne told Sky Sports his performances over the past month have “shown I can still play”, but it will be for somebody else next season.
This was De Bruyne’s penultimate home game for City, only the fixture against Bournemouth on May 20 remains, but he was able to celebrate with fans at the end.
“(It’s) really good,” Guardiola said. “Against Crystal Palace at 2-0 down his goal gave us the momentum to come back. I’m sure it’s not easy for him but his contribution has been massive, important.”
Asked if De Bruyne is irreplaceable, the City boss added: “There are players like Sergio (Aguero), like Kevin, like Vinny (Vincent Kompany) who are in the heart of the people.
“Not just titles and numbers, contributions in terms of affection and love and passion for all of us one decade here, helping us to win absolutely everything. And still is here.
“He doesn’t have to prove anything, I know his quality and his level. That’s all.”
Victory was City’s fifth in a row in all competitions – fourth in the league – and moves them up to third, four points clear of Nottingham Forest in the battle for a top-five slot.
Man City move up to third and strengthen their Champions League hopes 💪
They''ve got a four-point cushion inside the top five and have their eyes on Arsenal in second 👀 pic.twitter.com/AQdgj4kxq4
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 2, 2025
They are only three points behind second-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand but must yet travel to Anfield.
However, Guardiola insisted the Gunners are not in his sights.
“That is not the target,” he said. “(The target) is to qualify for the Champions League, and the FA Cup final.”
Wolves saw a six-game winning run in the league come to an end, but they were still enthusiastically applauded by the travelling fans after a battling performance.
Boss Vitor Pereira said: “It was a very good game, tactically, technically. I saw in my team the spirit that I want to see, the mentality to compete and until the last minute we tried to score.
“Of course there are some moments where we need to defend because we faced a very strong team but in the end I’m very happy, I’m very proud of my team, very proud of my players and very proud of the supporters.
“It’s just the result that was not what we want.
“Next time I will ask before the game to move the post out, and then we will score at least two goals.”
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