Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph hailed Kevin De Bruyne’s ‘moment of magic’ after the 2-0 Champions League win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling struck as City moved clear in Group F with a nervy victory.
De Bruyne broke the deadlock on what proved a testing night against the Ukrainian champions with a fine shot early in the second half, before substitute Sterling wrapped up victory late on.
Sergio Aguero, one short of equalling the club’s longstanding goalscoring record, endured a frustrating evening and had a second-half penalty saved by Andriy Pyatov.
‘It was very difficult. We’re not used to teams who come and keep the ball as well as they do,’ Delph told BT Sport 3.
‘We had to be organised and patient but in the end we knew we’d get the chances.
‘We probably could have stuck a few more away, but when you’ve got guys like this guy (De Bruyne) who can have that moment of magic you’re always confident going into games.’
Belgium international De Bruyne played down his own game while praising visitors Shakhtar.
‘Well I definitely think it’s not my best game,’ De Bruyne said. ‘It’s just the way it goes today but this team can definitely play some football. They’re very skilful guys.
‘The first half was very difficult for both sides but the second half we were better, kept the ball better and created more chances.
‘In the end it was a deserved victory and we keep another clean sheet so that was very nice.’
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