Kevin de Bruyne's status as one of Belgium's "Golden Generation" and the enduring quality he delivers at elite level was underlined once more on a thrilling, colourful night in Cologne.
This tournament's format has removed some of the jeopardy from the group stage, giving Belgium room for manoeuvre after that shock loss, and they knew a victory against Romania was essential. If Youri Tielemans settled early nerves by driving low past Romania keeper Florin Nita after 73 seconds, it was 32-year-old De Bruyne who ensured Belgium were dominant throughout.
If the action was frantic, De Bruyne had the quality and composure to make it look like he had more time on the ball than anyone else - particularly in a devastating second half. The blow of losing to Slovakia had been overcome to leave Group E on a knife edge, with all four teams on three points going into the final round of games for the first time in the history of the European Championship.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: Metro Newspaper UK - 🏆 61. / 63 Read more »
Source: Metro Newspaper UK - 🏆 61. / 63 Read more »
Source: sportbible - 🏆 89. / 53 Read more »
Source: talkSPORT - 🏆 91. / 53 Read more »
Source: BBCMOTD - 🏆 103. / 51 Read more »
Source: talkSPORT - 🏆 91. / 53 Read more »