The Belgian drew City level at the Santiago Bernabeu with an unstoppable strike from the edge of the area.
Despite enjoying large spells of the contest, Pep Guardiola‘s men found ourselves behind on 35 minutes following an impressive Vinicius Junior strike - which also makes the shortlist.
But it was all square in the Spanish capital midway through the second half when De Bruyne beat his fellow countryman Thibaut Courtois from around 25 yards.
Meeting Ilkay Gundogan‘s cutback, the Belgian fired a stinging low drive into the bottom corner of the Madrid net with the outside of his right boot.
It left Courtois, whose heroics had frustrated City until that point, with no chance, and set up an intriguing second leg tie at the Etihad next Wednesday.
De Bruyne faces competition from Vinicius Junior for the award as well as Inter Milan pair Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Voting closes at 11:00 (UK) on Friday 12 May, cast yours here.
