Pep Guardiola claims Kevin De Bruyne needs to focus on getting "the simple things" right as he faces time on the Manchester City bench.
The Belgian started as a sub once again on Saturday evening - the third time in the last seven league games he's been left out of the starting XI by Guardiola. De Bruyne has, for so much of his time at the Etihad, been the team's leading light, but his displays have not been at his manager's desired level.
The 31-year-old currently sits top of the assist charts in England's top flight as the champions chase a third straight league title. Guardiola is in no doubt about De Bruyne's ability to score and provide for his team-mates, but wants him to do the basics first.
He 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.”
De Bruyne was bought on in the 79th minute at the weekend, immediately after Erling Haaland had scored what would prove to be City's winner as they overcame Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The midfielder has featured in 25 of his side's 27 league games thus far.
The arrival of Haaland has seen the champions shift from a possession-based style to one that can be slightly more directed, given the presence of a natural 9 which they haven't had in recent seasons.
De Bruyne has played down any fears that the changes are affecting him or his style: "In the last few years people would say there is not enough presence in the box or deep runs and now people say the opposite. In the beginning of the season when everything was going in and we were winning a lot there was nothing going wrong and then when you lose a few points it's different."
The Belgian, whose mid-season World Cup ambitions flopped as his country were dumped out in the group stages, has copped criticism from Guardiola already. In October the Catalan claimed:“He is not playing at his top level" whilst he also added ”his dynamic [movements] are not perfect. He knows, I spoke to him.”
