Kevin De Bruyne has been told to go back to basics by Pep Guardiola in a bid to make sure Manchester City’s season ends in success. The City manager’s comments come after a difficult spell for the midfielder.

De Bruyne leads the Premier League assists chart with 13 and his three in the Champions League put him one behind the highest in that competition. However, the Belgian international has not been a regular starter for City since returning from the World Cup.

The 31-year-old has been on the bench for three of the last seven league games and was substituted early in the 2-0 home win over Newcastle United earlier this month. But Guardiola believes De Bruyne will improve when he returns to the basics.

It’s been a difficult season for all of us, me included, due to the World Cup and many things,” Guardiola said. “I’m not going to discover [how good] Kevin [is]. What I’d like — I spoke many times to him — is to go to the easy principles and do it well. He has an incredible ability to make an assist, to score goals and see passes like no one else.

“But I always have the belief that they will increase and get better when the simple things [are done]: like don’t lose the ball, the mobility, the incredible capacity to be active in the movement. The simple things: do it again better and better. When this is going to happen the rest will come along.”

Getty: Paul Ellis

Guardiola pointed to Erling Haaland as an example. “I don’t want him to just score goals and the rest I don’t care. So he will score and [if] he will be involved in the game it means that you run inside of the game, the ball is coming and you put the ball in the net.

“With Kevin it’s the same. When the simple things are done perfectly, we are in the right moment [to] move outside, inside, and when we have to attack the channels or whatever you do or feel in that moment, the actions to create incredible passes that he — only he — can find, it will be easier, it will be better.”

De Bruyne, speaking before Guardiola offered his advice, said he maintains that critics set different standards for him and pointed towards favourable statistics in creating chances this term. “I know how it is. When you’re 18, 19 you notice these things a lot more and you know where it comes from,” De Bruyne said.

When people talk about form and how people play, it’s give and take. I know how to manage that. I don’t know how long I'm going to play. As long as I’m having fun I will play football. Obviously, like everyone, there will be a day where it will end but I’m not able to think about that yet. I’m a perfectionist.

'Game will dictate what we must do'

City host RB Leipzig in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Tuesday evening with the score level at 1-1 after the first game in Germany. De Bruyne missed that match through illness but is likely to start at the Etihad Stadium after coming on as a late substitute in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Getty: Paul Ellis

Guardiola’s team have not been knocked out before the quarter-finals of the Champions League since losing to Monaco in the round-of-16 in 2017 but Guardiola has warned his players that Leipzig, currently sitting third in the Bundesliga, pose a significant threat to that record.

In the first half [in Leipzig] we were better, in the second half they were better,” Guardiola added. “We saw the game and we’ve tried to figure out what we are going to do. We’ll try to adjust a few things that will maybe help us to have more control and play a bit better.

“Always I believe in transition games, it is always [the toss of] a coin. It can go in your favour or [not] but it is a knockout game and maybe we need to break more of the game, maybe we don’t. We will see. In the end the game will dictate what we have to do.”

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