De Bruyne on a different planet
Kevin De Bruyne is, without doubt, playing the best football of his life at the moment.
He assisted two goals and played a significant role in two others, with his sublime pass for Leroy Sane arguably the moment of the match.
Since his City debut in September 2015, he’s assisted 32 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player, and he already has five in the league this season.
The question is: how good can he get? Our assist kings video shows how well he and David Silva complement each other and with El Mago alongside and Pep Guardiola on the training ground, De Bruyne could be on course to even bigger and better things.
Blues topping the tables that matter
Take look at the Premier League stats page and you’ll see City players starting to dominate.
Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero all have six Premier League goals apiece and are in second place in the top scorers’ list, while Silva (6) and De Bruyne (5) sit top of the assists top 10 that also has Aguero, Leroy Sane and Kyle Walker in.
City also have five players in the Top 10 passes list – with Nicolas Otamendi leading the way on 667, followed by Fernandinho, Silva, De Bruyne and John Stones.
Who tops the ‘Through Balls’ list. Yep, KDB.
Spectacular Blues
What is going on with the long-range goals?
City couldn’t buy a spectacular goal last season, but this campaign, we can’t stop scoring them.
Fernandinho’s beauty against Stoke is just one of maybe a dozen the Blues have banged in so far.
With De Bruyne, Sane, Fabian Delph and Aguero all claiming special goals. It’s a measure of the confidence and belief the players have this term, so expect plenty more in the weeks to come.
Unbeaten runs
It’s now 20 games since City were beaten at the Etihad and 17 matches since the Blues lost a game in any competition.
City have also gone 16 Premier League games without loss – a run stretching back to last April’s 2-1 loss at Chelsea.
Consistency and good habits are the sign of a great team and the football City played against Stoke was, at times, breathtaking.
The win over Stoke means City are the first English top-flight team to score 29 goals in their first eight league games of the season since Everton in 1894-95 (30).
It’s early days and you win nothing in October – but it is great to watch!
Goals and points
City have scored 37 goals in 11 games so far this campaign – that’s an average of more than three goals per game – impressive by any team’s standards.
Better still, the weekend results saw City go two points clear at the top and are also nine points clear of defending champions Chelsea with not even a quarter of the season completed.
But, as the old saying goes, it’s a marathon, not a sprint and no doubt Pep and his players will be taking things one game at a time.
