Man City star Kevin De Bruyne reveals minimal preparation for Manchester derby

De Bruyne reveals minimal preparations for Manchester Derby

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne threw fuel on the Manchester United funeral pyre that has been the 2021-22 Premier League season today when the Belgian international maestro revealed training preparations ahead of the 2-0 derby win last weekend.

City earned a resounding result against United which put increased pressure on Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar S0lskjær after a one-sided home defeat against the current holders, and De Bruyne has come out in the aftermath of the result stating that the club barely prepared for the fixture in the run-up to it.

According to ESPN, KDB stated quote “The day before a game we usually train tactically, based on how our opponent play. Before United, Pep said ‘We don’t know how they are going to play,’ and we stopped training after 10-minutes or so.” when speaking with the MidMid podcast.

Kevin De Bruyne on how Man City prepared for their match against Man United 😳 pic.twitter.com/94tWlFkcGO

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 11, 2021

While it could be easy to suggest that United are a hard side to nail down tactically and thus difficult to prepare for, the more likely scenario – which many of the responses on Twitter also suggest – is the fact that United lack a clear identity and direction under OGS and thus Man City had nothing to reference for the upcoming clash.

Belgian maestro in the midst of a data drop

Manchester City may well be in the thick of the fight for first as they sit just three points behind table-topping Chelsea and level with high-flying West Ham United, but Kevin De Bruyne has been a shadow of himself when it comes to his direct contributions this season.

The Belgian star has hit the back of the net twice in league action for City this term but thus far has failed to register a single assist in the Premier League, with just one on record in the Champions League group stage but without a goal to his name.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 26: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City runs with the ball during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Burnley at Etihad Stadium on January 26, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

By comparison, the last two seasons for KDB in the Premier League saw him hit 6-goals and 12-assists in 2020-21, and an astonishing 13-goals and 20-assists in 2019-20. 2016-17 and 2017-18 were not too shabby either, with returns to the tune of 6-goals and 19-assists, and 8-goals and 16-assists on his record as the KRC Genk academy graduate built a reputation as being arguably the finest creative midfielder in Europe.

There is still ample time for De Bruyne to log a data return commensurate with his reputation across the continent, but at the very least, he can go to sleep soundly at night knowing that Manchester City are streets ahead of their biggest domestic rival.