De Bruyne teed up Erling Haaland for the vital second in the 2-0 home win over Everton as our star striker brushed aside Toffees No.32 Jarrad Branthwaite before firing home.
It put KDB on 12 goal involvements in his last 12 Premier League games and 23 goal involvements from his last 23 appearances in all competitions.
It was also the 12th time he’s assisted Haaland - the most of any Premier League player for a specific teammate since the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
Dunne loved seeing KDB in action and discussed the pass which set up the clincher from a stopper’s viewpoint in our Matchday Live show.
“It’s horrible. When they tease you with a ball you think you can get but you also think you possibly can’t, you end up diving in or stepping off too far, it’s so difficult to play against,” said our former skipper.
“With De Bruyne, it’s three or four times a game he’s doing it. He’s so spot on with every pass that he makes. It’s incredible.
“The players up their game because they appreciate what’s coming.
“They know it’s not going to be smashed into me, it’s going to be weighed perfectly so I can do whatever I need to do.
“He’s a joy to watch. Having him back at this important point in the season, it brings the team on to another level again.”
Shaun Wright-Phillips, another guest on our MDL show, was also in awe of KDB’s accuracy for that second goal.
“If you see Erling’s run, he leaves a pathway for Kevin to put the ball in between him and the defender,” said our former winger.
“When Kevin plays the ball it always seems to be where the defender thinks he can get it but effectively he can’t.
“It slows the defender down because he thinks ‘can I get this?’ and then it goes past him.
“It’s superb watching those two link up.”
De Bruyne is being treated carefully in his comeback from injury.
He was out for five months with a hamstring issue but returned to the bench for the FA Cup tie with Huddersfield Town, setting up Jeremy Doku for the final goal in our 5-0 victory.
KDB was again a super sub in the 3-2 away victory at Newcastle, scoring one and assisting the winner in the closing moments.
He came off the bench again in the FA Cup win at Tottenham, whipping in the corner for Nathan Ake’s last-gasp decider.
De Bruyne started back-to-back wins over Burnley and Brentford, setting up Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden against the Clarets and Bees.
He was on the bench again for the Toffees win but made a huge impact when he entered the action, setting up Haaland in a tight victory.
Wright-Phillips thinks he not only impacts games when he comes on, he also lifts the spirits of everyone around him – players and fans alike.
“He changes games. It’s not just what he does when he comes on the pitch,” added SWP.
“You can see it with the players and the atmosphere around the stadium, it’s the roar, the expectancy of what they know he’s going to bring to the game.
“The levels of the players rise as well. Haaland seemed more active, too. You saw with the goal, as he saw Kevin turn, he was on his bike.
“You can see sometimes with other players he’s not necessarily going as quickly because he’s not sure it’s going to come whereas he knows if Kevin sees that pass, it’s coming.
“Kevin, as he does, slides in the perfect ball and goes ‘look mate, it’s down to you now’. Haaland did really well, composed himself and then put it away.”
