Enjoying a very good spell under Pep Guardiola, Kevin de Bruyne has been highly praised for his performance against Chelsea, even forcing Antonio Conte into admitting how great the Belgian is.
The Belgium international is now with his national team, and that means interviews with the local media about everything that’s going on back in England, including all the pats on the back the attacking midfielder has been getting recently.
Asked by Le Soir how he felt about being put by some in the same category as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester City star remained his humble self and refused to get carried away.
He said: “It’s not up to me to say, but it’s nice to hear too. Beyond that, there’s no point focusing on my individual performance. In my eyes, City are a very credible title challenger now more than ever as they are winning in the big games.”
Playing a huge part of this increase in De Bruyne is Pep Guardiola, whom the former Chelsea midfielder rates extremely highly after more than a year of working under him.
He explained: “He’s both a very precise manager and one close to his players. He’s hugely demanding but also knows when to relax by giving us time to clear our heads.
“All his work revolves around the team, which he values more than the individual. He changes small things every game. Tactically, he’s clearly the best manager I’ve played under.”
While José Mourinho might not want to hear this, considering De Bruyne played under him at Chelsea, few will disagree with that statement, even if it took around a year for Manchester City to click as they have done this season.
The key behind it all finally coming together? “Long tactical sessions, basically every day”.
