Kevin De Bruyne Blasted for Allegedly Diving to Win Man City Penalty Scored by Erling Haaland vs Fulham

• Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne was criticised on social media for diving against Fulham
• Fans called out the Premier League and the use of VAR for its inconsistencies in awarding penalties
• The resulting penalty saw Erling dispatch the penalty to give Man City an important win

Kevin De Bruyne produced another man-of-the-match perfomance as Manchester City left it late to secure an important 2-1 win against Fulham despite playing most of the match with 10 men.

However, the Belgian was later heavily criticized for theatrically winning the penalty, and some thought it was a blatant dive.

Manchester City fullback Joao Cancelo received his marching orders in the 25th minute for barging against Fulham's Harry Wilson, a decision which saw City concede from the penalty spot.

However, Fulham were resilient, and despite having one more man, they were pinned back for most of the second half, which resulted in a late penalty won by Kevin De Bruyne, according to MEN.

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De Bruyne bashed for diving

However, the manner the Belgian won the penalty angered many rival fans who felt he went down too easily as City were chasing a winner, according to Sportbible.

One fan said there is no consistency in awarding of penalties pointing out that Mohamed Salah would've criticised by the media for doing the same.

"If Mohamed Salah dived the way Kevin De Bruyne did today to win that penalty, the media would never leave him alone."

"Why is Saka kicked for fun in every game and people like Kevin De Bruyne are getting penalties for this?? Do these referees review their performances?"

Another hit out at another bad use of the VAR.

"What is the point of VAR if that dive by Kevin De Bruyne was allowed to stand as a penalty?"

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Another one said the midfielder cheated his way into a game-wining moment.

"Kevin De Bruyne is an unbelievable footballer but this afternoon he’s cheated his way to a penalty. There’s no way that’s a penalty, not a chance."

Some said it was a dive, plain and simple.

"Kevin De Bruyne with a theatrical masterclass to win that penalty, his dive was half a second late, shocked VAR didn’t reverse the decision."

Others said the officials referee other players very differently.

"Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne & Harry Kane literally have their own rules. They dive every week multiple times and NEVER get a card. Bernardo was on a yellow, dived twice & then screamed and gestured at the ref."

Either way, Haaland dispatched the penalty to secure the win, which saw City climb to the top as they wait for Arsenal's encounter with Chelsea later on Sunday.

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Sports Brief earlier reported on Virgil Van Dijk naming De Bruyne as one player he would've loved to play with.

Van Dijk showered praise on the Manchester City midfielder, saying he has everything for an attacking player.

The two players have been influential for their respective sides, who have dominated the Premier League for the last few seasons.