Manchester City superstar spotted leaving Etihad Stadium with Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United shirt after 6-3 derby win - Reports
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne reportedly got to take Cristiano Ronaldo's jersey back home with him following his team's win against Manchester United.
As per the Daily Mail, De Bruyne was spotted leaving the Etihad Stadium after the match on Sunday (October 2) with a United shirt. The Belgian is rumored to have revealed that it was Ronaldo's jersey. However, the report did not feature any photographs of the same.
Man City star Kevin De Bruyne still values Cristiano Ronaldo after he is spotted leaving the Etihad with his shirt | @ChrisWheelerDM trib.al/a9BNgVl
The news comes in the aftermath of Manchester City's dominant 6-3 win over Manchester United on Matchday 8 of the 2022-23 Premier League season. Pep Guardiola's side absolutely annihilated their derby rivals, going 4-0 up by half-time.
De Bruyne played a crucial role in City dismantling United in the opening 45 minutes. He was heavily involved in a superb team move that saw Phil Foden put the hosts in front after just four minutes. The midfield maestro then set up Erling Haaland from a corner to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute.
De Bruyne set up Haaland once again just four minutes later, whipping in a superb cross from the left which the Norwegian converted at the far post. The Belgian found Haaland another time, this time on the right flank, two minutes before half-time, with the latter setting up Foden to make it 4-0.
He was ultimately substituted in the 75th minute after a tremendous display that put Manchester United to the sword. During his time on the pitch, De Bruyne recorded two assists, two shots on target, and two successful dribbles, while completing 84% of his passes.
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo spent the entirety of the derby on the bench
While Kevin De Bruyne pulled the strings at the heart of Manchester City's midfield, Cristiano Ronaldo watched the entire game from the bench.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag chose to bring on Anthony Martial with his side trailing 4-1 in the second half. He revealed after the game that he didn't give Ronaldo minutes on the pitch out of respect for the player and said (as quoted by Sky Sports):
"I didn't bring him [Cristiano Ronaldo] on out of respect for his big career. And the other thing, there was then the advantage I could bring Antony Martial on. He needs the minutes but I don't want to point it out like that."
🗣️ “I wouldn’t bring him out of respect for Cristiano [Ronaldo] and his career.”
Erik ten Hag on why he didn’t bring on Cristiano Ronaldo in the Manchester derby. https://t.co/0qZ0ATX2Sw
Martial ultimately came on for Marcus Rashford with around half an hour to go and scored a brace in the dying minutes. It didn't amount to much for Manchester United, however, as they slumped to their third Premier League defeat of the season.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has now received just 80 minutes of action across the Red Devils' last five league fixtures, including the derby.