The real reason behind Kevin De Bruyne’s ‘2-1’ celebration in Manchester City’s win over Tottenham

By Deputy Chief EditorDecember 17, 2017

148 2 minutes read

The real reason behind Kevin De Bruyne's '2-1' celebration in Man City vs Tottenham — Kevin De Bruyne signalled ‘2-1’ after he scored vs Tottenham. (BT Sport)

Kevin De Bruyne opted for a special celebration after scoring Manchester City’s second in their 4-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday.

Pep Guardola’s side extended their impressive run with a comprehensive victory over Spurs at the Etihad Stadium.

Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring in the first half before De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling’s double completed the win after the break.

Before the game, City fans were given cause for concern as David Silva was surprisingly omitted from the matchday squad.

Pep Guardiola refused to elaborate on Silva’s absence, other than that the midfielder was missing due to ‘personal reasons’.

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After De Bruyne had rifled his shot past Hugo Lloris, the Belgian made a point of looking at the camera and holding his fingers up to signal ‘2-1’.

Some City fans decided to read that as a dig at Manchester United and Jose Mourinho after their heated derby last Sunday.

City ran out 2-1 winners at Old Trafford, while after the match, players and staff from both teams were involved in a brawl around the away team’s dressing room.

But judging by City’s post-match photo in their changing room after the win over Spurs, De Bruyne appears to have paid tribute to Silva with his own celebration as ‘2-1’ is the Spaniard’s shirt number.

Ederson and Fabian Delph both held up Silva’s shirt in City’s dressing room after the game, while members of Guardiola’s backroom staff were also signalling ‘2-1’ with their fingers.

The win over Tottenham has extended City’s lead at the top of the table to 14 points, although Manchester United have the chance to narrow that gap when they face West Brom on Sunday.

‘We are here to win titles,’ De Bruyne said after the match.

We had a great start, it’s still more than half [of the season remaining] so it’s still very difficult – we want to win every game and everybody who comes in is doing an incredible job.’