- Belgian midfielder a talisman for Blues
- Has starred across eight years
- Scratching around for a spark at present
WHAT HAPPENED? The Belgium international midfielder has been a talismanic presence for the Blues across his eight years at the Etihad Stadium, helping City to four Premier League titles and himself to back-to-back PFA Player of the Year awards. De Bruyne has, however, struggled for consistency in the 2022-23 campaign, while also sitting out a couple of games through illness, and is still looking for his usual spark.
WHAT THEY SAID: Guardiola is convinced that will come in time, saying after replacing De Bruyne with Bernardo Silva midway through a 2-0 victory over Newcastle: “Kevin, always the standards of Kevin are the sky. Everyone knows his level. In one week he has an opportunity to show his quality, delighted for the victory we had, this is what we have to do. Come back to principles, work hard. Everything will come back without any effort. Just do it your usual quality, your best.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: While De Bruyne was wasteful in possession in times against Newcastle, Silva grabbed City’s all important second goal. Guardiola added on the Portuguese playmaker, who remains something of an unsung hero for the Blues: "Bernardo has never been a top top scorer or assists but he helps us to play better. You want statistics, okay go to big datas and congratulations you can write big articles about that.
"But there are things that people don't come for the datas. Something that is unique, Bernardo is unique to make all of us play better, be aggressive and play our rhythm that we need to play to make us play better. The game in some moments is so quick, sometimes it is necessary, but sometimes not. Bernardo helps us to to play in a different pause to after make explosion. Bernardo is unique in the world to help us do this."
IN THREE PHOTOS:
Getty Images
Getty
GettyWHAT NEXT? City remain five points adrift of Arsenal in the Premier League title race at present and will be back in action next weekend when taking in a trip to Crystal Palace.