KDB’s dip in form means City look better without him
HAVING carried City during various periods of his career, Kevin De Bruyne currently, sadly, resembles a passenger in the side.
The thing with De Bruyne is that he is so absurdly talented that even when he is bad he can still do things that 99 per cent of footballers cannot, so all it takes is one ingenious assist and a poor performance can be overlooked in victory.
Against West Ham, he had a few moments. A beautifully chipped ball for John Stones forced Alphonse Areola into an excellent save in the second half, and minutes later there were a inchperfect pass through the claret-andblue shirts to find Raheem Sterling.
Too often though, the best player in the league last season was prohibiting rather than producing attacks. When the ball came his way, attacks broke down rather than building up.
As the player and his manager admit, it takes time to build his rhythm and form up after injury, and it shouldn’t be forgotten he is coming back from a particularly brutal set of injuries; knocked unconscious with a broken cheekbone in the Champions League final, he was rushed back only to suffer and then play on through snapped tendons in the Euros.
It is almost always worth the time to get him up to full speed, but for the moment it feels unfair to put his regeneration above the opportunity for a player in better form to show what they can do. Bernardo Silva has been outstanding as a No.8 this season, Ilkay Gundogan has returned from injury in the last two matches and slipped back into his usual levels of excellence, Phil Foden has clearly outshone his more senior teammate in recent months.
It isn’t an easy decision for Guardiola to make because of the pay-off that arrives with De Bruyne and the need for him to play. Asked about his form after the match, the City coach noted his contributions against Chelsea, Liverpool and Club Brugge this season although he did acknowledge that top form currently eludes him.
The harsh truth though is that City look a better team without him, and it certainly felt telling when the Belgian was withdrawn in the final 10 minutes of the game as City chased a goal that would spare them the lottery of penalties.
Previously he would be kept on as the closest guarantee to a moment of inspiration Guardiola had at his disposal, or if not that then a near-certain pick as a penalty taker.
Here in East London, he was removed as Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish were entrusted to try to win the game instead.
De Bruyne is too good a player not to come good again, but in a squad packed full of players in better form and a manager who runs a meritocracy it feels like there are currently better options in the team.