Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola seems to have revealed his frustration with star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
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Though the Belgian playmaker leads the assist charts in the Premier League this season with 13, his recent domestic form appears to have left Guardiola concerned.
De Bruyne has been left out of City's starting XI four times in their last nine league matches, with the 31-year-old having been an unused substitute in two of those games.
The midfielder has registered just four assists in the EPL since picking up nine in his first nine league outings of the campaign, leaving Guardiola hopeful that the ex-Chelsea man will eventually get back to basics.
"It's been a difficult season for all of us, me included, due to the World Cup and many things," he said, according to the Irish Times.
"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."
City will host RB Leipzig in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday night after drawing 1-1 in the first leg.
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