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If you were to ask who the strongest player in Manchester City is, some might say it's Haaland. However, in the eyes of some, Belgium's midfield maestro De Bruyne is the team's nucleus. Unfortunately, De Bruyne suffered an injury early in the season, leading to a period of anonymity for him and fluctuations in Man City's performance. Recently, after De Bruyne's return, in just 240 minutes, he quickly became a leading candidate for the team's assist king. Indeed, Manchester City's home cannot be without him!
De Bruyne's injury dates back to the previous season when Manchester City achieved an unprecedented domestic treble. However, towards the end of the season, De Bruyne played with injuries, overexerting himself and enduring a major injury that kept him sidelined for several months. Although De Bruyne returned early this season, a rushed comeback resulted in another injury until his recent return.
Perhaps due to the initial misjudgment of his usage this season, even though he has returned, Guardiola has been extremely cautious in using De Bruyne. In the last five matches, De Bruyne only played a total of 240 minutes. However, his limited playing time cannot overshadow his brilliance. In the FA Cup, with Man City beating Huddersfield 5-0, De Bruyne came off the bench for 33 minutes and provided an assist. In the Premier League against Newcastle (3-2 victory), he came off the bench for 21 minutes, contributing with an assist. In the 3-1 win against Burnley, De Bruyne started and played for 71 minutes, providing an assist. In the most recent match, he finally played the full 90 minutes, marking his first full-game appearance of the season, and once again delivered an assist.
Post-match statistics show that this season, De Bruyne has played only 7 times for Manchester City, scoring 1 goal and providing 5 assists. Considering that Foden, the current team assist leader, achieved 7 assists after playing for more than half a season, De Bruyne's efficiency is truly remarkable. If De Bruyne can maintain his health, he might well claim the title of team assist leader after just half a season. Additionally, with Man City's subpar performance in high-stakes matches this season, partly due to De Bruyne's absence during strong encounters, teams in the Premier League will have a new headache because Manchester City's strongest man is back. |
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