Will the real De Bruyne stand up?
Pep says his talisman is in a trough and losing the ball too often. He must shine tonight with Leipzig tie in the balance
ThE families of Manchester City’s squad were all at the training ground celebrating the birthday of Kevin De Bruyne’s son yesterday but Pep Guardiola wants his talisman to stop the party tricks. At the moment, he might be trying too hard to entertain.
De Bruyne, undoubtedly the best player of the Guardiola era — the man who has dug City out of all sorts over the years — has suffered something of a dip. he has started three of the last seven Premier League matches on the bench, recently withdrawn early from a win over Newcastle with the result in the balance.
These are not normal situations for the 31-year-old to find himself in, although he believes he is generally held to a higher standard. Tonight, a problematic Champions League tie with RB Leipzig, finely poised at 1-1, is exactly the sort of occasion when City need him to shine. It is a match Guardiola is desperate to control because he fears Leipzig’s devastating ability to break quickly.
Keeping hold of possession is crucial to the game plan and Guardiola thinks De Bruyne is losing the ball too often. his passing accuracy is 78 per cent this season, down from 83 per cent. It is quite a big decrease for somebody so good.
‘What I’d like — I spoke many times to him — is to go to the easy principles and do it well,’ the City boss said. ‘he has an incredible ability to make an assist, to score goals and see passes like no one else.
‘But I always have a belief that they will increase and will get better when simple things, like don’t lose the ball, the mobility, the incredible capacity to be active in the movement — the simple things — do it again better and better. When this happens, the rest will come.’ De Bruyne, who
IS PEP RIGHT? WHAT DO THE STATS SAY?
KEVIN DE BRUYNE has played 34 of 41 games this term for City — 400 minutes more than this stage of last term. Here’s how his key stats compare after 41 City games... described himself as an ‘old man’ in football, was thriving with Erling haaland earlier in the campaign. Now there is an argument that he is forcing through balls in search of the Norwegian.
It’s nit-picking — De Bruyne has still recorded more assists than anyone else in the league — and yet those higher standards do apply to him. ‘I’m a perfectionist,’ De Bruyne said.
Guardiola has referenced similar themes in previous months, most notably in October when saying the Belgian was ‘not playing his best’. None of City’s players have for the whole campaign — not even 34-goal haaland — and Guardiola admitted the season has been difficult. ‘For all of us, me included,’ he said.
But they still remain in three competitions, while this particular one feels like it has taken on even more importance.
So far under Guardiola it has been the same story in Europe every year for City: they are favourites to win but fall at various hurdles from the quarterfinals onward. Sometimes hard luck stories, sometimes selfinflicted implosion. The perception is that not winning it with this manager and players would be a failure but De Bruyne does not agree.
‘We’ve not won it but we’ve done really well in the CL and I know people base everything on only winning,’ De Bruyne said. ‘I don’t regret the things I do. You lose way more than you win but luckily I’ve been able to win a lot so in that way I am really fortunate.’