Kevin de Bruyne tricks entire Burnley defence with sublime assist to Julian Alvarez; Video

• Kevin de Bruyne got his third assist since returning from injury
• The Belgian cheekily passed the ball to Julian Alvarez, who slotted home
• Alvarez bagged a brace on his 24th birthday

When Jurgen Klopp said the whole world was shaking upon news that Kevin de Bruyne was returning from injury, sections of fans thought he was giving the Belgian too much credit.

But the Liverpool boss knew exactly what he was talking about, as De Bruyne is already proving to be a menace to Premier League defences, barely a month since his return.

On Wednesday evening, he was at it again with another sublime assist against Burnley.

The 32-year-old was given the nod by Pep Guardiola to start against Burnley, as City aimed to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool.

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It did not take long for the home side to establish a lead, and it came from Julian Alvarez, who is proving to be a gem in the absence of Erling Haaland.

The Argentine found the net in the 16th minute after excellent play from excellent play from Matheus Nunes.

Alvarez then made it 2-0 on his 24th birthday, neatly tucking in a Kevin de Bruyne pass.

Credit has to go to De Bruyne, who left the entire Burnley defence wrong-footed from a free kick conceded by Hjalmar Ekdal.

It almost looked like De Bruyne would cross the ball in the box, but he instead picked Alvarez with a perfectly weighted ground pass, and the young striker did the rest.

Since his return from injury, the Belgian has now been involved in four goals for Manchester City, a tally that includes three assists.

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Man City wins as Haaland returns

Manchester City put the game beyond doubt with a strike from Rodri in the 46th minute, with Vincent Kompany’s side getting a consolation late in the game through Ameen Al-Dakhil.

Erling Haaland made his much-anticipated return after two months out with injury, but the Norwegian’s biggest contribution to the game was cracking up his teammates after a botched attempt to get a shot away on the turn.

The win now sees Manchester City leapfrog Arsenal into second place on the log with a game in hand. Liverpool’s 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea on the same day meant the Reds maintained their lead at the top, as per the Premier League website.

De Bruyne climbs the assists chart

Elsewhere, Sports Brief reported on the unique milestone De Bruyne achieved after his assist to Julian Alvarez on Wednesday.

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The Belgian now has 104 assists in the Premier League, a figure that puts him third in the all-time rankings.

He recently surpassed Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, and now only Cesc Fabregas (111) and Ryan Giggs (162) stand in his way.