Manager Pep Guardiola was keen to stress ahead of the game against Nottingham Forest that Kevin De Bruyne's return will not solve all of Manchester City's problems.
After six defeats and a draw, the Belgian midfielder has not been able to solve everything. However, De Bruyne has a goal and an assist in the first 30 minutes of his return. While not the solution to all the problems that are affecting Guardiola’s team, De Bruyne is good at covering up the cracks.
The Citizens beat Nottingham 3-0 to register their first win in any competition since late October. De Bruyne will be 34 next summer and the last 18 months of his career have been marred by injury. However, Guardiola's side are still better with him in the team.
"I'm very happy for De Bruyne. Last season he was injured for many months, this season too. I'm very happy that he's back. De Bruyne fought a lot. He played 75 great minutes. We needed to win. The club, the players, everyone needed to win," said Guardiola.
Guardiola also denied speculation that he and De Bruyne had fallen out during the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool. The Spaniard insisted that the Belgian should be used with caution after six weeks on the sidelines. Against Nottingham, Guardiola decided it was time to bring De Bruyne back.
It is too early to say that De Bruyne or Man City are back to their best. A first win in seven games would be a welcome relief for Guardiola, but there are still issues to address.
Nottingham had 12 shots and should have scored at least one. Chris Wood had a golden chance to level the score at 1-1 midway through the first half but missed. Defensive weaknesses - one of the reasons for Man City's disastrous run - have not been fixed. Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake were both forced off with injuries.
"The problem continues with Akanji and Ake, but we showed what an incredible group of players we have. We played well, we still missed some easy things and lost some passes. It was better than the defeats against Liverpool and Bournemouth but quite similar to the other games we didn't win. Today we won. That's it," Guardiola added.
Still struggling with an injury list and defensive weaknesses, Guardiola knows De Bruyne is not the answer to all his problems, but it will certainly be good news for City when the Belgian midfielder returns.
