De Bruyne: I can’t do it all by myself

KEVIN DE BRUYNE has demanded perfection from his Belgium team-mates after admitting he has struggled to adapt to the different level of performance from that at Manchester City.

As the Belgians were labouring to a 1-0 win over Canada on Wednesday, the City midfielder repeatedly lost his temper. He threw his hands up in disgust and was engaged in a heated discussion with defender Toby Alderweireld and coach Roberto Martinez during a break in play.

De Bruyne mocked the decision to vote him man of the match and was in no mood to celebrate. ‘I know I have to adapt to my team-mates,’ he said yesterday. ‘Sometimes I get agitated because I’m a perfectionist. But I cannot do this job by myself. I will need everybody else. I need to raise the level of the other guys if we want to be successful at this tournament.’ Compared to City, the level of talent around De Bruyne is not the same with Belgium, even if the team is ranked No 2 in the world. Against Canada, there was a sluggishness to their aging side that De Bruyne has noticed for a while. Ahead of tomorrow’s game against Morocco, he said: ‘Perhaps it’s not new that we are not playing at our best level. And I believe the team has the potential to do better. It’s time to deliver.’ MANCHESTER CITY appear to be retreating from China after investors China Media Group sold most of their shares to American private equity firm Silver Lake, who have increased their stake in the club to more than 18 per cent.