Why Kevin De Bruyne's 'wrong-footed' hat-trick was one of the best displays in Premier League history

“Twenty-three minutes of footballing genius,” declared the Sky Sports commentator Andy Hinchcliffe and, when you stopped to compute that we had all just witnessed Kevin De Bruyne score a hat-trick with his ‘wrong’ foot, it was impossible to disagree.

“My right is stronger, but I’m not afraid to shoot with my left, and it creates a problem for the opposition,” he declared, having casually walked off the pitch with the ball tucked beneath his arm.

It was quite the understatement. A fourth goal did also arrive in the second half with that favoured right, but his left had long since settled a match that will be remembered for one of the best individual performances in Premier League history.

There is a funny tale about how De Bruyne became virtually ambidextrous on a football pitch. He would play relentlessly in his back garden as a young boy, but the neighbours got so fed up with the mess he was making of the bordering flowers that it was agreed he would only practice on the other side with his left. Now it is impossible to distinguish any difference and, with Pep Guardiola having pointedly noted that “it’s normal - they win all the awards” after Mohamed Salah was voted Footballer of the Year, this was another reminder of De Bruyne’s outstanding credentials.

All great teams have an on-field presence who embodies their manager’s philosophy above all others and, even after the arrival of Erling Haaland, De Bruyne will surely remain that player. Two things, above all, were striking here. The first was the way in which he did not just score four goals but, in three of them, had actually started the move before applying the finishing touch. The second, amid all the magical touch, vision and movement, was his sheer physical power on the ball.

Goal one: Sand-iron set-up, clinical finish

De Bruyne began by rotating with Phil Foden as the most advanced central player in City’s typically fluid attacking system and was instantly seeking to exploit pockets of space behind Wolves’ midfield. Only six minutes were on the clock when he drifted into a hole and, with a little right-footed sand iron-like pass over the defence, turned what looked like an innocuous situation into a moment of grave danger.

It still needed Bernardo Silva’s exquisite touch and pass but he just knew that De Bruyne would keep running and the return pass was perfectly-weighted. The finish was no formality but, without breaking stride, De Bruyne was clinical in fizzing the ball across Jose Sa and into the bottom corner.

Goal two: Vision and diligence rewarded

The most scruffy-looking finish, but another build-up that again owed everything to De Bruyne’s vision across the entire final third of the pitch. He had actually been hovering in space next to the centre circle at the start of the move and, with Conor Coady seemingly more worried about Foden, no one countered his forward run.

De Bruyne then swivelled in collecting the pass with his back to goal before hooking the ball into the space between Sa and Raheem Sterling. Always on the move, De Bruyne was then again handsomely rewarded for his diligence in surging forward behind any penetrating pass and duly arrived before Willy Boly to divert another side-footed finish past Sa.

Goal three: Shades of Messi and Charlton

The best of the lot, with echoes both of Lionel Messi and Bobby Charlton. With his confidence clearly now surging, De Bruyne had drifted over to the right and picked up the pieces after Sterling was bundled over. He had first needed to show strength in holding off the challenge of Ruben Neves before sprinting, Messi-like, across the edge of the penalty area to leave Boly and Coady again trailing in his wake.

There had been three touches with his right foot and a nudge with the outside of his left before unleashing a glorious finish on the run into the left-hand corner. De Bruyne had briefly looked like he might pass to Silva but, with the ball still rising Charlton-style as it bulged into the net, there could be no doubting his choice. “It was the purest of the goals,” he said. And he even then finished it off with a Haaland-style celebration.

Goal four: Proof that the right is not just for standing on

So you wanted evidence that De Bruyne’s right-foot really was his preferred side as a young player? No problem. His and City’s fourth arrived 15 minutes into the second half and would follow the template of his first-half hat-trick in demonstrating his brilliance as both creator and lethal finisher.

Wolves, once again, were unable to counter De Bruyne’s drift into a midfield pocket of space. He then surged forward, releasing Foden, before again being rewarded for following his pass into the penalty area and then steering the rebound beyond Sa.

There was even almost a fifth. Another wonderful left-footed strike cannoned against the post just when it looked like a Premier League record five in a game might be equalled. “Chelsea reject,” chanted the Wolves fans. It had indeed reached the point where they could only laugh - and offer grudging applause - at De Bruyne’s brilliance.