Kevin De Bruyne brought his incredible form to new heights on Wednesday as he put in his best performance of the season so far in Manchester City’s 5-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 30-year-old netted four at Molineux as Pep Guardiola’s men moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League and significantly improved their goal difference.
It means City are overwhelming favourites to wrap up a fourth title in just five years, with games against West Ham United and Aston Villa this season.
For De Bruyne, it would also be a fourth top-flight success in England, and the champions’ upswing in form since the start of April has been largely down to the Belgian’s brilliance.
The midfielder has driven City on with his range of passing, energy, penetrative dribbles and, of course, eye for a goal.
It seems almost every City game De Bruyne is walking away with ManchesterWorld’s Man of the Match award, and it’s no surprise he was selected as the star performer again in the victory over Wolves.
The four-goal contribution also means City’s talisman has racked up some impressive records, stats and landmarks all from the one game.
We’ve picked out some of our favourites from an unforgettable night for De Bruyne…
1. First City treble
Surprisingly, that was the midfielder’s first City hat-trick. His only previous treble came in 2011 when playing for Genk.
2. One of the division’s finest
De Bruyne netted three inside 24 minutes, the third quickest in Premier League history for a player starting a game, after Sadio Mane and Dwight Yorke.
3. Another Guardiola hat-trick
The hat-trick was also the 16th City have scored in the league under Guardiola, which is exactly half of all the club’s trebles in the Premier League.
4. Career first
The Belgium international netted a fourth in the second half, the first time in his career De Bruyne has achieved such a feat.