In a Premier League in which Liverpool have been so overwhelmingly superior to all their rivals, it seems foolhardy to even ask the question and yet it is appropriate to do so: Has Kevin de Bruyne been the best footballer in the English league that has just finished ? At the moment, in the traditional vote of journalists, the Belgian has been in second position, behind Jordan Henderson , whose victory has been interpreted more as a recognition of Liverpool, who captains as the individual prize that it really is. The winners of the official award and the one awarded by the players remain to be known and De Bruyne appears as a firm candidate for both.

He cannot present the title of champion as merit, but he can present a battery of statistical records that in some cases equals him with the best in the history of the Premier League. This is the case of his 20 assists - seven more than the second on the list, Alexander-Arnold -, a figure only equaled by Thierry Henry , one of the greatest legends of modern English football. Along with the 13 goals he has scored, more than any other pure midfielder, De Bruyne has had a direct participation in 33 goals of the 102 goals that City has scored, 32%. Salah , with 19 goals and 10 goal passes, is the only one approaching his level of incidence in his team's game.

The advanced statistics also shed light on the level to which the Belgian has performed this season. He has averaged 3.9 key passes per game - the following, Maddison and Grealish , has remained at 2.5 - and leads with Alexander-Arnold and Digne the ranking of centers per game, with 2.1. In passes to the gap is also the leader, with 0.4. And in shots per game, he is the first midfielder on the table - seventh in total - with 2.8.

In summary, De Bruyne has focused, assisted and provided more key passes than anyone else in this Premier and he has also been one of the best players related to the goal, without opposition among those who are not forwards. «It is really good and it has something that makes it unique. Right now, he is the best midfielder in the world ”, summarizes Pep Guardiola about the pupil on which he has built his Manchester City this season.

In full maturity, at 29 , De Bruyne has emerged as the leader of the citizen set. The drop in level of the two Silva, Bernardo and David , added to the defensive injuries and the fragility generated by these losses and by the progressive adaptation of Rodri to the Guardiola scheme , have made the Belgian the most essential figure of the team along with Sterling . In fact, only the English winger and goalkeeper Ederson have surpassed their record of 3,646 minutes - spread over 50 games - this season.

The ability of midfield Real Madrid, and particularly Casemiro , to stop De Bruyne will be one of the keys that will settle the duel tonight in Manchester. Already in the first leg at the Bernabéu he was decisive, serving the equalizer for Gabriel Jesus and later converting the penalty for the citizen victory. Because tonight, Manchester City's plan is clear: balls to De Bruyne.

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  • Pep Guardiola
  • Real Madrid
  • Rodri
  • David Silva
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