City are now unbeaten in their last 31 Premier League games with De Bruyne starting. He has participated in 25 goals (nine goals, 16 assists) in those games.
De Bruyne said: “There have never been problems between Pep and me. He knows I have been struggling. It is painful and uncomfortable.
“Hopefully I can get back into my body without a lot of pain and then I’ll be fine.”
However, a bit like the victory itself, marred by an injury to Manuel Akanji that may rule out the Swiss defender from the weekend trip to Crystal Palace, and a hamstring problem for Nathan Ake, who has already missed five weeks with a similar injury this season. What Guardiola said “doesn’t look good” and makes him feel “sad” for the Dutchman; There was a warning when the City manager assessed De Bruyne’s contribution.
“He fought hard and prepared,” he said. “He has returned to his physical form. The minutes he played at Anfield were really good.
“Last season he was out for many months, this season too. We will see how he recovers after a long time injured and how he feels in three days.”
De Bruyne scored four or more shots and created four or more chances for the third time in a Premier League match this season.
Despite only starting five Premier League games, only Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has done so more often this season.
Guardiola’s fear must be that if he pushes De Bruyne too hard and too quickly, his body will let him down.
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards told BBC Match of the Day: “He’s a top-quality player and one of the best we’ve seen. He always manages to find space on the pitch.”
“He has been instrumental in Manchester City’s success for a number of years,” added former City boss Stuart Pearce on Amazon Prime.
“He is the go-to player who lights up Erling Haaland with his passes. He creates goals, he scores goals.
“If you had to pick a player from the last eight or nine years, De Bruyne would be at the top of almost everyone’s list.”
It is a delicate balance given his team is still nine points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool and is also outside the Champions League top eight ahead of next week’s trip to Italy and a meeting with the Juventus, after which City will only have first phase matches in January. They remain to ensure qualification for the round of 16 without having to worry about the play-off round in February.
However, as with his team, De Bruyne’s recovery had to start somewhere.
