Fans were very confused over Kevin De Bruyne's eye head of Manchester City's visit of Brighton this afternoon.
De Bruyne captained the Premier League champions against the Seagulls but his appearance prompted reaction aplenty before the clash.
The Belgian midfielder, fresh from coming third in the Ballon d'Or rankings, arrived at the Etihad Stadium with what appeared to be eyeliner - or quite possibly a 'shiner' - on his right eye.
There were shots of De Bruyne heading to the dressing room and then on the pitch during the warm-up, while referee Craig Pawson appeared to be in discussion with City's No.17 about it as the teams walked out of the tunnel.
Advert
As often is the case, Twitter was awash with reaction:
BBC Radio Manchester's City commentator Mike Minay revealing that De Bruyne's black eye came after he had a ball blasted in the face during training.
The former Chelsea man did have to undergo eye surgery in 2021 after a brutal challenge from Antonio Rudiger in the Champions League final left him with a damaged eye socket.
Advert
De Bruyne left the Estadio do Dragao pitch in tears after the challenge but responded in stunning fashion in the 2021/22 season by lifting a fourth Premier League title in five seasons.
The 31-year-old scored 15 times in the league, winning the Premier League Player of the Year for the second time.
He's been in fine form at the start of the current campaign, laying on nine assists for his teammates in the league.
Advert
City found themselves 2-0 up at half-time courtesy of a brace from goal machine Erling Haaland.
He opened the scoring by displaying freakish strength and pace to get on the end of an 80-yard Ederson, before smashing in his 22nd goal of the season from the spot after VAR adjudged Lewis Dunk to have fouled Bernardo Silva.
Brighton pulled one back through De Bruyne's compatriot Leandro Trossard but then the ex Wolfsburg man sealed the victory with a worldie strike from outside the box and even performed a celebration referencing his eye.
Topics: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City, Premier League, Brighton And Hove Albion
Josh Lawless