Manchester City play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend, with Belgian playmaker Kevin de Bruyne looking to continue his superb goalscoring run in the competition and land his third trophy since making his debut in the competition in 2016
Kevin De Bruyne is aiming for a hat-trick of FA Cup wins this season and to underline his status as the competition’s best performer in the last decade. Since making his FA Cup debut in January 2016, Manchester City playmaker De Bruyne has been involved in 28 goals – more than any other player.
De Bruyne has scored 10 goals and provided 18 assists for his City team-mates in the FA Cup, lifting the trophy in 2019 and 2023. That formidable FA Cup output places him ahead of Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min, who has been involved in 26 goal contributions over the same period.
De Bruyne’s FA Cup record is all the more remarkable given he has only featured in 32 of the 47 ties City have played in the competition since he joined from Wolfsburg in 2015.
His FA Cup high points include the 2018-19 campaign, when he scored twice and laid on five assists – including a goal and an assist in the 6-0 mauling of Watford in the final.
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Another stand-out FA Cup campaign was the Treble-winning season of 2022-23, when he provided assists for both Ilkay Gundogan volleys in the 2-1 final win over local rivals Manchester United.
De Bruyne will be hoping to add to his prolific FA Cup record on Sunday, when City go to Bournemouth in the quarter-finals, looking to reach an eighth semi-final under Pep Guardiola.
Six De Bruyne FA Cup crackers
Norwich 0 Man City 3 – January 9th 2016
De Bruyne, in his first season at City, came off the bench just after the hour and scored the final goal 17 minutes later, slaloming his way through the Norwich defence before scoring with a low finish inside the near post for his 11th goal of the season.
Man City 5 Burnley 0 – January 26th 2019
With City leading 2-0, De Bruyne collected a pass from Riyad Mahrez 20 yards out in the 61st minute and took one touch before dispatching an unstoppable low shot beyond the reach of Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, as Guardiola’s men cruised to an emphatic win.
Man City 6 Watford 0 – May 18th 2019
De Bruyne scored City’s third in this rout of Watford, the biggest winning margin in FA Cup final history. City broke on the counter-attack, with Gabriel Jesus finding De Bruyne, who executed a perfect drag-back to send keeper Heurelho Gomes the wrong way, before scoring from six yards out.
Everton 0 Man City 2 – March 20th 2021
City were leading thanks to a diving header from Ilkay Gundogan, with substitute De Bruyne sealing the win in the 90th minute. Fellow sub Rodri spotted De Bruyne’s exquisitely-timed run and played a perfect through ball, with the recipient scoring with a sweeping left-foot finish.
Bristol City 0 Man City 3 – February 28th 2023
With City leading 2-0 and cruising into the quarter-finals, De Bruyne produced a majestic finish from 25 yards out to score the final goal, running on to a Jack Grealish pass and never breaking stride as he swept the ball into the net with a curling, clinical finish.
Leyton Orient 1 Man City 2 – February 8th 2025
De Bruyne plundered the winner 11 minutes from time, after Grealish spotted his clever run in behind the Orient defence. Grealish lofted a ball over the top and De Bruyne applied a first-time finish with the outside of his right foot to seal the comeback win.
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