De Bruyne features prominently in many analytic lists of City’s season so far, with the promise of plenty more to come.
Tellingly, it his average minutes on the pitch that tell their own story, with De Bruyne on the pitch more than any other player so far in this landmark campaign for the 26-year-old.
Appearances and average minutes played:
36 appearances at an average of 82.58 minutes - Kevin De Bruyne
35 appearances at an average of 81.94 minutes - Fernandinho
27 appearances at an average of 80.00 minutes – David Silva
When it comes to direct involvement in a goal, it will come as no surprise to learn that De Bruyne has been scoring and creating goals at a phenomenal level – though he is closely joined by several team-mates in this list…
Goals and assists:
24 goals plus 5 assists – Sergio Aguero
11 goals plus 15 assists – Kevin De Bruyne
19 goals plus 7 assists – Raheem Sterling
Recorded touches of the ball again places De Bruyne in the top three, though there is close competition from Nicolas Otamendi who tops the most touches list and Fernandinho, who is also in close pursuit…
Most touches
3,359 – Nicolas Otamendi
3,295 – Kevin De Bruyne
3,273 – Fernandinho
De Bruyne’s passing has been outstanding all campaign and his accurate passes put him there or thereabouts with some familiar competition…
Accurate passes
2,737 – Nicolas Otamendi
2,458 – Fernandinho
2,068 – Kevin De Bruyne
Finally, when it comes to defence-splitting through balls De Bruyne tops not only the City stats list, but also the Premier League list with an astonishing number of killer passes…
Premier League – most through balls
26 – Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
20 – Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)
19 – Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)
19 – Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United)
17 – Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool – now Barcelona)
