Despite leading the Premier League assists chart with 13, while also grabbing three in the Champions League and two in the Carabao Cup, Kevin De Bruyne has once again come under some criticism from his manager.
Pep Guardiola has urged the Belgian midfielder to do the "simple things" and claimed he has repeatedly told De Bruyne to get back to this. The 31-year-old comfortably leads the Premier League when it comes to assists, but he has found himself among the substitutes in recent weeks.
De Bruyne was replaced against Newcastle last week before being named on the bench at Crystal Palace on Saturday. He also remained as a substitute for the win over Bournemouth. While the Blues midfielder has somewhat struggled to rediscover the form he was enjoying prior to the World Cup in Qatar, the former Chelsea man has still managed two goals and five assists since return from the Middle East.
ALSO READ: Pep Guardiola sets out Arsenal advantage over Man City in title race
Speaking ahead of City's Champions League last-16 second-leg clash with RB Leipzig, Guardiola said: "It’s been a difficult season for all of us, me included, due to the World Cup and many things. I’m not going to discover [how good] Kevin [is]. What I’d like – I spoke many times to him – is to go to the easy principles and do it well. He has an incredible ability to make an assist, to score goals and see passes like no one else.
"But I always have the belief that they will increase and get better when the simple things [are done]: 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 is going to happen the rest will come along."
The arrival of Erling Haaland has seen City shift from a possession-based style to one that can be slightly more direct on occasions. The Norwegian frontman has registered a staggering 34 goals in 35 matches this season, but even he could not escape some advice from Guardiola - with the Spaniard using the frontman as an example to De Bruyne.
He added: "I don’t want him to just score goals and the rest I don’t care. So he will score and [if] he will be involved in the game it means that you run inside of the game, the ball is coming and you put the ball in the net."
It is not the first time that Guardiola has criticised one of his players in an attempt to help them rediscover their best form. In fact, Guardiola did the same thing with De Bruyne just five months ago.
After City's Premier League victory over Brighton, which followed De Bruyne being named in third place in the 2022 Ballon d'Or standings, Guardiola raised eyebrows by saying he thought De Bruyne wasn't playing at his best and can be better. Just one week later - after De Bruyne scored in the win over the Seagulls - the Blues boss declared the Belgian ace was 'back' after his match-winning free-kick against Leicester.
De Bruyne was able to laugh off his manager's criticism that he can still improve. The 31-year-old insisted that he was happy with his form, and claimed he did not take the comments as a negative thing.
When Guardiola's comments were put to him, he said: "I don’t know. I tried to play as good as possible! We play so many games and it is so hectic, the schedule so difficult, some games are better than others. I am fairly happy with the way I play. Can you do better? Yes, of course. But I do not take it too much as criticism. You just want to be the best version of yourself you can be. I still feel confident in what I am doing.
"We had a brief conversation but not a big one. Just the usual stuff. I think some games have gone really well and sometimes a little bit less, but the schedule is so hard, we play so many games and we travel everywhere. You have to calculate everything. Like this week, if you don’t really play in Dortmund, then it is like two and a half training sessions in a week, so coming back into a rhythm is never that easy.
"I like rhythm as a player, but I am used to the changes and the rotation of the team. I am not too worried, If I can do better then it is good. I try to do the best I can."
The Belgian star continued to impress after Guardiola's comments, grabbing an assist against Sevilla in the Champions League and against Fulham and Manchester United in the Premier League.
While the circumstances are different to the last time De Bruyne came under criticism from his manager, the midfield ace has already demonstrated that he is more then capable of responding to the calls. The tactic has worked for Guardiola in the past, but it is also important the City manager gives him the opportunities to do the all-important 'simple things'.
READ NEXT:
