It was the Pep Guardiola classic switcheroo.
“It can be better,” he said of Kevin De Bruyne’s form after the Belgian scored a majestic goal to help Manchester CityTake a look at these very good deals BrightonSide 3-1
“He’s not playing at his top level, Kevin, not yet. He scored a fantastic goal, but he’s not playing at his best. He knows, I don’t have to tell him. His dynamic is still not perfect, he knows that, I’ve spoken to him.”
He was able to curl and dip, which was his second goal for the season. The other was quite special too: against BournemouthIn August, he dropped his shoulders to make space. Then he bent the ball into the post using the outside of his right foot.
He has nine assists Premier LeagueThis season, there are four clear winners Alex IwobiSecond place (and two additional places in the Champions League). His expected assists (xA) — which measures the chance a pass will result in an assist based on factors such as where the pass was received and the type of pass — total is 5.05, almost double second-placed Kieran Trippier’s 2.74.
Guardiola’s right, though. Such a statement is always going to sound pretty alarming — and, hey, we’re writing about it, aren’t we? — but it’s not especially controversial to say that it’s not the absolute top-level Kevin De Bruyne yet.
Kevin De Bruyne, arguably the greatest midfielder in Premier League history is a force for nature.
This season, he has been good, very good even, but with enough misplaced passes — or overall poor performances, such as at Anfield last weekend — that make you think, “There’s more to come.”
And that’s where we’re at. De Bruyne is mature enough to understand and, most likely to, to manage it.
He didn’t make it to the interview area on Saturday after the game to give his verdict. He probably would have shrugged and admitted that he could do better, in his phlegmatic style.
He might have mentioned the positive things he had done. There has been plenty of that. He normally speaks after games and it won’t be long before we get his view, and perhaps an explanation for the black eye he sported on Saturday, looking like a member of My Chemical Romance. It was a ball to the face, apparently — but who did it?!
Stats for Opta every 90 minutes
This radar shows how creative he is. The higher the bar is, the better it performs compared to other Premier League players. This is evident in his chances created, assists and xA as well as the fact that he completed passes into the box and into the final third.
And most of the nine assists have either demonstrated how destructive he can become in open spaces or how intricate he can work in tight spaces.
The opening weekend’s through ball against West Ham UnitedAnd the curling ball to your back post Manchester UnitedBoth are available for purchase. Erling HaalandThe following are some reminders of the types of passes he is able to play.
He hasn’t been able to play the passes as often during 18 months of false nines but he can still serve them up for others.
He can also make wicked crosses from his right-hand side. Below are the graphics that show where he crossed from last season.
The more obvious difference is that he played a lot more crosses from deeper positions last season, but the other one, which is admittedly less obvious at first glance, is that he’s played about as many crosses in that right-hand corner in 11 games this season as he did in 30 last season.
However, the assists can be varied. He made a clever reverse pass from his left to win against Bournemouth. Phil FodenTo score, and the one for Bernardo Silvaat Newcastle UnitedHe was, without doubt, the best player in the tournament. It seemed that he was the only one on the ground who could see the ball and execute it.
Four of those assists have been for Haaland and at times, he has realised that passing to the Norweigian wasn’t the best option, so he either passed to somebody else or, like that Bournemouth goal, he had a shot himself.
So what’s the issue? There isn’t one, really. Guardiola made a switch in that he was allowed to praise a player, who was, at the surface, in good form. But, he turned the tables.
He did it quite a bit with Sergio Aguero (and Leroy Sane) and certainly there were issues. That is not the case with De Bruyne, not at all: he’s not going to get dropped any time soon (rested, possibly).
Is it possible to quantify this all? Perhaps De Bruyne’s performance against Wolverhampton WanderersIt sums it all. It may actually be an exaggerated example, but it’s the easiest way to put a finger on it.
At Molineux, he received two assists. The first was in the opening minute. He got into his favorite right-hand cross position and fired the ball over for the second. Jack GrealishTo poke in. Foden converted the touchdown in the second half.
He looked oddly out of his rhythm, with many other opportunities missed to send a teammate in behind or give up possession cheaply. Those are the ones that will stick in Guardiola’s mind, the passes that De Bruyne could make in his sleep that, for some reason, end up giving the opposition the chance to counter-attack instead.
He wasn’t terrible in that game by any means, but he was not as good as those two assists suggested.
And that’s where we are, really. He’s been better than he was against Wolves most weeks, but if he was really firing on all cylinders he would probably have more goals and certainly even more assists.
That’s what Guardiola and De Bruyne want and it’s fairly easy to imagine it happening.
(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
