Former Holland striker Rene van der Gijp was in awe of Kevin de Bruyne against Real Madrid this week.

De Bruyne was outstanding as Manchester City shocked Real at the Bernabeu 2-1 in the first-leg of their Champions League round 16 tie.

And Van der Gijp declared: "At the moment, he's by far the best midfielder in the world, I think.

"I enjoyed De Bruyne incredibly. Gosh, what a match the boy played.

"What do I like about the boy? Everything, everything. He does it in the phases where it matters, he is strong on the ball, he brings peace. You know, he is no longer defended when he is on the ball. They (the opponents) think: let's see what happens, because he will not give it away to the opposing team."