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Pep Guardiola advises Kevin de Bruyne on how he can improve his form.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged his ace midfielder Kevin de Bruyne to go back to the basics, saying his form will improve when he starts doing the simple things better.
Pep believes De Bruyne is an amazing passer of the ball and is capable of getting a lot of assists, but advises that the midfielder's form will improve if he starts to do the basics better.
The Belgian midfielder is one of the best playmakers in Premier League history and has led the league in assists on three separate occasions while playing for Manchester City. His 12 assists this season are also the most in the league, but his form has dipped compared to his explosive start to the campaign.
What Guardiola said
Pep was speaking in the pre-game press conference ahead of Manchester City's Champions League clash against Leipzig when he passed advice to KDB, who was at the press conference with him.
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He said he would like for the 31-year-old to attend to the basics because, although he has the ability to create chances at an obscene rate, his form has taken a dive because he is not doing the basics well enough.
Pep went further and said he had to be more mindful of losing possession and to be more mobile; he called these things simple but assured that they would go a long way in improving the midfielder's form.
"What I would like is for Kevin to go to the easy principles,” Pep said, per the BBC.
“He has an incredible ability to make an assist, to see passes like no one else. But always I believe they will increase and get better when the simple things are done - don't lose the ball, the ability to be active in the movement - the simple things will do it again, better and better.
He also suggested that he will not be satisfied with KDB only getting assists at the detriment of his overall game by drawing comparisons to Haaland, who he said he wanted to be more involved in matches to go with his goals.
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"When this is going to happen, the rest will come. It's like Erling, I don't just want him to score goals and the rest I don't care - he will score more when he is more involved in the game. For Kevin, it is the same."
Kevin de Bruyne misses out on the Richest Footballers in the World
'He has to be involved' — Pep on Haaland
Erling Haaland is the top scorer in the Premier League this season with 28 goals in 25 games, he has also scored five in five Champions League appearances. However, Pep Guardiola is not satisfied.
Guardiola would like Haaland to be more involved in the team's build-up, as he prefers his strikers not to remain rooted in the opposition box waiting on chances.
"I don't like one player just to be in the box to score goals. Of course that is important, it is the main thing, but it is not all we need of him.”
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"Apart from that, when we are away from the opponent's box he cannot score a goal we need him to be involved [in play] and to be active. We have to look at him and he has to be involved in what we are doing.
"This we can improve. He has improved a little bit but on this he can do better."
Relive Leipzig vs Manchester City first-leg
Manchester City will host Leipzig tomorrow in the second-leg of their UCL encounter, and it is all to play for after both teams shared the spoils in the first-leg which ended 1-1.
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