‘You need to win these big games’ - Kevin De Bruyne outlines importance of Man City vs Liverpool

Kevin De Bruyne has said Manchester City will need to win ‘big games’ like Sunday’s, if they’re to claim silverware between now and the end of the season.

They don’t come much bigger than this weekend when Pep Guardiola’s men host Liverpool in an encounter which could go a long way in determining where this year’s Premier League title will end up.

City are currently a point clear of the Reds with eight games remaining, and given how rarely either side drop points in the league, it’s a match that carries added significance.

Speaking after Tuesday’s Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, De Bruyne is fully aware of how challenging this fixture could be for the champions.

“It is really big,” said the 30-year-old. “I think everybody is looking forward to it. I think the players will take it as a privilege to play these games.

“As a player you want to win games and trophies and if you want to do that then you need to win these big games. But if you win, draw or lose, there is still a lot to play for.

“We are going to try and play a good game and then we will see. That is the mentality, we want to win all three [trophies]. It is going to be very hard, we have done good things before but their quality is good also so we will respect that and work hard.”

De Bruyne feels confident for Madrid trip

This isn’t the only huge game on the horizon for City, and following Sunday’s clash against Liverpool, the Sky Blues travel to Atletico Madrid for their quarter-final second leg.

The Spaniards will look to make it an intimidating atmosphere at the Wanda Metropolitano for City, who won 1-0 in the first leg on Tuesday.

It was De Bruyne who netted the only goal of the game, and the Belgian is confident his side can finish the job off in Madrid next week.

“I think we can get a good result,” he said. “Obviously, it is very tough and they have a lot of quality when they play. We can only control today what we had to do.

“We controlled them well, they have good attacking players, but they didn’t shoot at the goal from what I can remember. In that aspect, the team did well.

“It is a good result, we have a one-goal advantage, but 90 minutes or 120 minutes is still a long time. Now we have to recover and get ready for Sunday.”