The Premier League has been graced by a coterie of exceptional midfielders over the years. Be it a passing master in Paul Scholes or a team leader like Steven Gerrard, the league has had its share of midfielders of the highest quality. However, the last few seasons have been dominated by a Belgian midfield maestro. His creative wizardry in and around the centre of the pitch is unparalleled. Hailed as a “complete midfielder,” Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has always been important for the Citizens. This season, his scintillating performances have transported him to a whole other level.
Kevin De Bruyne Continues to Show Why He’s the Best
Mind-Blowing Statistics
Having missed almost the whole of last season with injuries, De Bruyne has taken the league by storm this year. The Belgian’s playmaking keeps getting better with every game, having now reached a point where you can do nothing but stare in awe.
His numbers are staggering and are concrete proof of his brilliance. De Bruyne is the highest-scoring midfielder in the league right now with seven goals. He has also racked up 14 assists this season which is the most in Europe’s top five leagues. This is also only six short of Thierry Henry’s Premier League record of 20 in a single season.
He leads the chances created charts with 76 and has created 19 big chances, which is also unsurprisingly the highest in the league. Such marvellous statistics have cemented his place in the league this season but they’re not the only things which make Kevin de Bruyne the best.
Pure Quality
The overall complete kit possessed by the midfielder is what makes him special. He has a ridiculous range of passing and the pre-eminent vision to see and pick out a pass. Not only that, but De Bruyne also can keep hold of the ball well.
Combine that with the intelligence to play the correct pass in the perfect instance, and he is lethal. He can pull the strings in midfield by drifting into space in between the lines whilst also moving into the channels to create more space for other players to run into.
His work rate is amazing, as he presses opposition players intensely and also easily beats the press from the opponents. Brilliant positioning and driving past defenders to either score or assist is another quality of his which has particularly shone this season.
His game sense and alertness combined with his calmness and composure on the ball allows him to play in any position, be it as an attacking midfielder or a deep-lying playmaker. What’s most important is that when the going gets tough for City, he starts roaming in and around the box to find small pockets of space which he can then exploit devastatingly.
Fantastic Performances This Season
However, what defines the Belgian is his sheer quality on the ball. His passes are accurate and to perfection and when he hits the ball, it stays hit. This can be made evident by looking at, say, his audacious assist against Watford in their 8-0 thrashing at the Etihad, or maybe glance at the magical assist against Aston Villa in a 6-1 win for the champions, and who can forget that thunderbolt of a half-volley against Newcastle United in a 2-2 draw at St. James’ Park?
Talking about performances of the season until now, De Bruyne’s performance against Arsenal is right up there. He scored two absolute stunners while also assisting one for Raheem Sterling. He was clinical with three shots, all on target and his record of seven progressive runs (which is usually three every game); and all of this took him one half to accomplish!
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