Manchester City’s perfect start to the 2016-17 season has been highlighted by the efforts of midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
After Pep Guardiola compared De Bruyne to Lionel Messi following the weekend’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth, the gang at oulala.com decided to check the stats. Their figures show that surprisingly, the Belgian is in fact ahead of the Argentine superstar across a number of key areas this season.
Taking on more attacking responsibility under Guardiola, former Wolfsburg playmaker De Bruyne has already registered two goals and three assists, cementing a central spot behind the City striker. In contrast, the ‘Little Master’ has four goals to his name and two assists.
In front of goal is the only area which Messi leads, however, with the German typifying Guardiola’s style of play through 43 successful passes per game compared to 36, coming at 84% accuracy.
Vital to any Sky Blues attacking move, De Bruyne has created an average of 3.4 chances each game and has provided nearly three key passes. He is even ahead of the Barcelona superstar in terms of take-ons, beating defenders with a 71% success rate.
Will De Bruyne continue to turn heads under the tutelage of Guardiola?
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