After coming back with a bang - to put it lightly - Kevin De Bruyne looks to be as sharp as ever. However, could a new change of personnel in the City squad be about to uncover the most optimal system for De Bruyne to date?
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00:00 [Intro Music]
00:04 So firstly, let's start with a little history lesson for all of you.
00:08 So I hope you're revising with your notebooks out because I'm going to take you back to the summer of 2015.
00:13 That is when Manuel Pellegrini at the time signed Raheem Sterling, although from what I know, and who was also at the club,
00:20 it was really a Pep Guardiola signing because Txiki Buggera-Stein and that were there in the background and they were laying the groundwork for Pep.
00:27 So let's just say De Bruyne and Sterling were Pep signings.
00:30 Shhh.
00:31 And then also the summer later when Pep Guardiola was in charge of Manchester City, he signed Leroy Sane from Schalke.
00:38 So what does Sterling and Sane have in common you ask?
00:41 Well, one's left-footed, one's right-footed, but they can both play either side.
00:44 And the system that Pep Guardiola played in 17/18, which won them the league with 100 points, played out a little bit like this.
00:51 So how did that Centurion City side line up?
00:54 Well, the bat four changed every week. It was sometimes Delph, sometimes Nchenko at left-back.
00:58 But in midfield, mainly, it was Fernandinho in the six, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne in this midfield triangle,
01:05 and then Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling over here would hug the width and hug the touchlines as much as he possibly could.
01:12 And then Aguero and Jesus up top.
01:15 Now, the reason Manchester City was so ruthless at the time and were blowing every team away is because of how they scored the goals
01:21 and how relentless the pressure was on the team.
01:24 So one thing they do is they push the midfield this high up, so Fernandinho almost playing in the opposition's final third,
01:31 and they just try and smother teams with collective pressing as much as they possibly could.
01:37 Or should they win the ball in this area of the pitch, sort of here in their own half,
01:41 they would look to transition as quickly as possible using the width and pace,
01:45 pace being the key word, of Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling.
01:48 And then the typical Pep Guardiola goal back then was one of them getting to the byline here, cutting it across.
01:54 There's the ball, and Aguero would score. Good finish from Adam, well done.
01:58 So there we go. That was how City back then really used to attack and score their goals.
02:02 But the key man in the attack really above all was, you guessed it, Kevin De Bruyne.
02:07 And these screenshots here really showcase De Bruyne's just world-class ability to find the likes of Sane and Sterling in behind,
02:14 knowing the pace that they've got, and sort of knocking it into an area but with inch-perfect precision
02:18 for those two to be able to get on the end of it.
02:20 So here you can see Sterling scoring a goal at Selhurst Park, made by De Bruyne, running that channel from the right-hand side.
02:26 Another example here at home to Burnley, where Leroy Sane ran in from the left-hand side,
02:30 and De Bruyne again just slotted it into all of that space, the acres that he had to run into, and Sane finished.
02:37 And then this clip here, you've all seen it, you all know the assist,
02:39 but probably the best ever pass of a football I've seen in the flesh.
02:43 But I'm only putting this in to showcase the run that Sane made,
02:46 the fact that De Bruyne knew Sane was going to make that run and he was calling for it,
02:51 and the fact that De Bruyne could actually make the pass.
02:53 I think that's the key thing, De Bruyne can physically make that pass,
02:56 whereas most other players, if not any in the world, could pull that off.
03:00 So back then, that way of playing was sort of Manchester City's cheat code,
03:04 and Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling were of course pivotal to that because of their blistering pace in behind.
03:09 However, history lesson number two now, who did Pep Guardiola sign out wide after that?
03:13 Well, it was Riyad Mahrez in 2018, and then of course, Jack Grealish in 2021.
03:19 "What makes these guys different, Adam?" you ask.
03:21 Well, no, probably not, because you probably already know the answer.
03:23 Well, the difference between those two and Sane and Sterling is those two, Mahrez and Grealish, aren't as quick,
03:28 are heavily more reliant on ball retention, and score most of their goals from cutting inside against banks of 10 defenders sometimes.
03:36 They're really more to do with close touch dribbling, keeping the ball, maintaining control of football matches.
03:42 I think that's been the through line with Pep Guardiola's system for the last two or three years,
03:47 and that's why Mahrez and Grealish were so beneficial to them in the last few years, and why they ultimately won the treble as well.
03:53 Now, this right here is the most recent iteration of how Manchester City have played football,
03:57 and on the ball, this would be Rodri here, he'd go here, you already know this, but John Stones would go here,
04:02 Kyle Walker then, sort of covering in this right space, and then you'd sort of have a back three.
04:07 This could also be a Kanji, and then John Stones drops there.
04:09 You've seen what's going on with the inverted full-back situation, but the reason behind this is because
04:15 since the days of the Centurion season where City got 100 points, teams have typically played a bank of 10 against City now,
04:21 not to suss them out, but because of damage limitation, really, and how killer Sane and Sterling used to be,
04:27 so Pep had to adapt and deploy the likes of Grealish, Mahrez, or Bernardo Silva on this right-hand side
04:32 to maintain possession.
04:34 Gundogan and De Bruyne would push up here, and they would keep the ball on the edge of the 'D' for several minutes on end at times,
04:40 and then it'd be death by a thousand passes, and one of them would find a way through,
04:43 and then Mr. Erling Haaland would tower over someone, woo, and head it into the net.
04:48 But you've watched football in the last year, you know how this works.
04:51 Now, I don't really need to show you screenshots of that.
04:53 You're not stupid, you have been watching football in the last year, and you've seen that that is how City have played,
04:58 and have had to play as well because of the wingers at their disposal.
05:02 However, someone new has come in, and his name is Mr. Jeremy Doku.
05:07 Now, who does he remind you of?
05:09 Well, he's two-footed, he can play left-wing or right-wing, he hugs the whip,
05:13 and if you haven't noticed, he's extremely f***ing quick.
05:18 So what Jeremy Doku allows City to potentially, let's say, revert back to is that old system of Sterling and Sane,
05:25 because Phil Foden's quite quick as well and can play out wide, but Doku, really,
05:28 we've already seen it without Kevin De Bruyne, but he likes to hug the touchline like Leroy Sane did, and running behind.
05:34 Problem being, though, no one in midfield at City is as good at football as Kevin De Bruyne.
05:39 [Music]
05:48 So with Kevin De Bruyne's freakish ability to pick out passes from anywhere and put balls into areas
05:53 that only Jeremy Doku can really get on the end of, it unlocks an ability that De Bruyne has not been able to express
06:01 for a good three or four years, really, since Leroy Sane left, because then Sterling started playing on the left-hand side.
06:06 So it gives De Bruyne the capacity to start playing football and start making passes, how he used to about five years ago.
06:13 So why will this role be hybridised with what he currently does, you ask?
06:16 Well, the simple answer to that is Erling Haaland.
06:18 He is very quick in transition and can also get on the end of those kind of slid passes into areas.
06:23 We saw it last season, particularly on his first game for Manchester City at West Ham away, where De Bruyne slipped him through, as shown here.
06:30 But also we've seen the atypical Haaland goal being that looping header, and usually it's delivered by Mr Kevin De Bruyne.
06:37 So again, home to Wolves last season, Southampton away, just to name a couple.
06:42 De Bruyne has also got a lot more assists of recent with Erling Haaland in the team, from literally just punting balls into the area,
06:48 which is something he couldn't do back in 2018, because the guys in the box were Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero, who aren't exactly tall.
06:56 So how will Kevin De Bruyne here operate for the remainder of the season, or how could he potentially operate?
07:01 Well, if Manchester City win the ball in their own half, or in this sort of area of the pitch here,
07:06 then it might open up the opportunity for De Bruyne to find Doku hugging this left-hand side in transition,
07:12 and knock it into this area of the pitch here.
07:14 Or if he's on the right-hand side, knock it into this area of the pitch over here.
07:18 So, like so. That went out, like, it got stopped by a magazine.
07:22 But you get the idea. Doku would have got on the end of that, because he's a very quick lad.
07:25 And then if Manchester City are in this area of the pitch with the ball, knocking it around here, against a bank of 10,
07:31 well, you have Mr Erling Haaland here, who, as we've seen last season, is always sniffing around goal.
07:36 And De Bruyne will often drift into this right-half space that he likes to operate into here,
07:40 and float one into Erling Haaland, who will jump up and head it into the net. What a Finnish Erling.
07:45 So the point I'm trying to make is, as a Manchester City fan myself, one before 2008, by the way,
07:51 but as a City fan watching De Bruyne for many years, I have seen different versions and iterations of Kevin De Bruyne.
07:56 And the current one, well, the one last season anyway, when he was playing, the type of assist he was getting
08:00 were very, very different to the type of assist he was getting five years ago to the likes of Sterling and Sarne,
08:05 because of the personnel in the squad. But now with Doku and Haaland in the team, who he's, you know,
08:11 he's benefited from Sarne. When Sarne was there, Doku's a similar profile.
08:14 It's almost like he's got the best of both worlds. And now with a big target man up front,
08:19 who can get on the end of balls with his flailing limbs and acrobatic expertise,
08:23 and Doku who can run the channels with blistering pace, it gives De Bruyne the most variety of assists,
08:30 shall we say, than I think he has ever had at his disposal in this Manchester City team,
08:35 which is quite frightening, really. Anyway, let me know what you think.
08:39 Do you think I'm right or do you think I'm waffling? Let me know in the comments,
08:42 because I do really think with the personnel in this team right now, particularly being Doku and Haaland,
08:47 De Bruyne might have the most variety of assists at his disposal.
08:51 Don't keep saying it, but...
08:53 Of course, guys, as well, do not forget to subscribe. I hope you have a lovely, lovely day, evening,
08:58 whenever you're watching this. I've been Adam Monk. Have a good one. I'll see you very soon. Bye-bye.