The pass master to unlock any defence
NO one does slide-rule passes quite like Kevin de Bruyne, the assist king of the Premier League.
Poor old Stoke had no way of stopping De Bruyne and were on the receiving end of two of the Belgian’s more precise defence-splitters.
The first was an inch-perfect cross on the run from the touchline which picked out Gabriel Jesus, who didn’t have to break his stride to fire in City’s fourth. Seven minutes later De Bruyne found an even more sublime pass to pick out Leroy Sane for the sixth (above). 32 De Bruyne has provided 32 assists since making his Manchester City debut in September 2015, more than any other player over that period. Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen is next best with 29. 5 De Bruyne’s assists this season, one behind City’s David Silva. The Belgian has also contributed one goal, that stunning recent winner against Chelsea. 14 In the past 18 games Premier League games, he has scored three — including that stunning winner at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago — and made 14 assists. It’s a remarkable record and one that does