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Pep Guardiola sends message to Kevin De Bruyne over form struggles.
Kevin De Bruyne has been pushed by Pep Guardiola to get back to the fundamentals in an effort to regain his best form.
The Manchester City midfielder is considered one of the finest players on the globe, but after missing two games due to sickness, he has received harsh criticism from fans for his slow return to play.
De Bruyne’s comeback against Forest required a talk from Guardiola at halftime because the Belgian was “too passive,” but the 31-year-old followed it up with a clumsy performance against Newcastle that resulted in his being hooked after an hour.
Guardiola stated that despite De Bruyne’s performance drop, it is just a matter of time before his midfield guru returns to form.
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“Kevin, always the standards of Kevin are the sky,” Guardiola said. “Everyone knows his level. In one week he has an opportunity to show his quality, delighted for the victory we had, this is what we have to do. Come back to principles, work hard.
“Everything will come back without any effort. Just do it your usual quality, your best.”
Taking De Bruyne’s place against Newcastle was Bernardo Silva, who Guardiola was happy to shower with praise.
“Bernardo has never been a top scorer or assists but he helps us to play better,” the City boss said. “Something that is unique, Bernardo is unique to make all of us play better, be aggressive and play our rhythm that we need to play to make us play better.
“The game in some moments is so quick, sometimes it is necessary, but sometimes not. Bernardo helps us to to play in a different pause to after make explosion. Bernardo is unique in the world to help us do this.”