If even Kevin De Bruyne is not safe from Pep Guardiola's relentless quest for perfection then God help every other player under his management.
It's a brilliant trait, of course. That drive and refusal to be satisfied are what has seen Manchester City enjoy so much success since Guardiola arrived at the club. He's still hungry for improvement, for more trophies, and that desire trickles down to his players.
Even De Bruyne, who scored a stunning 25-yard strike to ensure City got back to winning ways against Brighton and has by far the most assists in the Premier League this season was told he can still do more by the Blues boss. "He can be better. He's not playing at his top level, Kevin, not yet," Guardiola said.
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"He makes a fantastic level but he's not playing at his best. He knows, I don't have to tell him. His dynamic still is not perfect. He knows that, I spoke with him. The goal is outstanding, thanks to him we didn't suffer the last 15-20 mins."
It's a terrifying thought for the rest of City's opponents if the brilliant Belgian can get even better. It's not as if he was bad against Brighton, goal aside, far from it. He was excellent once again. Only the goalkeeper's stretching foot and Aymeric Laporte's header being a hair wide of the post stopped him from adding another two assists to his tally.
If Guardiola wants even more from De Bruyne then he could help him out by putting Phil Foden back on the right side with him. The manager took a risk by changing a winning formula for the trip to Anfield as he moved Foden back to the left and opted for an experimental formation.
City struggled that day and a big reason why was because De Bruyne was somewhat isolated on the right. He couldn't get in the best positions to cross and wasn't able to link up with Foden like he had done so well in the preceding games. In the three matches before Liverpool, De Bruyne registered five assists while playing on the same flank as Foden. His goal against Brighton came when Foden had been substituted on, too.
It's hardly like either player is bad on their own but when they're together it's as though the Mega Powers have united, the Avengers have assembled or the Gallaghers have finally reconciled. Some things are just better together and that's quickly becoming the case with Foden and De Bruyne.
If Guardiola really wants De Bruyne to take his game to an even higher level, then he can give him a hand by going back to that winning formula.
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