Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench in the 1-0 win against Crystal Palace and knows what he can and can’t do
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne runs with the ball
Kevin De Bruyne played down any concerns over his form by pointing out his exceptional record this season in the Premier League.
Manchester City’s talisman for so many years has found it more of a challenge this year, especially since the World Cup, to nail down a place in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI. Injury and illness have not helped De Bruyne find his rhythm and the 31-year-old had to settle for a place on the bench again in the 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace.
Just as Erling Haaland has set the bar high for goalscoring, De Bruyne believes that he is a victim of his own quality but pointed to his league-leading figures in assists, chances created and big chances created – having started just five of City’s last nine games – to point out that he is happy enough with his level.
“Obviously, people have a different standard [for me] to a lot of players. It’s just what it is,” he said.
“People expect me to score every game and assist every game. I think I’ve been playing quite well. Maybe there have been fewer assists but I don’t think I’ve been creating less.
“I don’t really look at these things. I feel fine. I think I’m playing alright – maybe not the best I’ve every played but it’s good.
“You know the stats – I’ve created the most in the league and have the most assists and I’ve not even played four or five games. For me, it is the same. I’ve been doing the same thing for eight years here and 15 years in professional football so I’m feeling fine.
“I expect more from myself than you guys will ever do. You know what people are going to say outside but there’s no pressure. I play football because I like it, not because I have to, so it’s good.”
As City undergo a change in their team adapting to Erling Haaland spearheading their attack after two years without a centre-forward, all eyes are on how Guardiola will oversee the transition. The former Dortmund striker is having to acclimatise too though, and De Bruyne doesn’t feel like he has to do anything different on the pitch to what he has been doing for his entire career.
“Whenever I go on the pitch I try to do what I do always. I don’t feel that I necessarily have to do something different,” he said.
“I’m an old man in this game, I know how it is. I’m fine. Obviously you want to play as much as possible but if you don’t play you do the best for 10 minutes and that’s what I did and get the win for the team.
“I don’t have to do anything different. People know who I am after eight years, know what I do for the team, what I’m good at and what I’m not good at. I don’t want to do different things that I’m not good at on and off the pitch. Everyone has his role to play and that’s really important to maintain your role.”
