This season has been one battle too far for Kevin De Bruyne | OneFootball

If any one player best encapsulates Manchester City’s season it is Kevin De Bruyne. Like his team, the expectations have been until recently, that Pep Guardiola’s side will click into gear. The same has been expected of De Bruyne. But as the season has continued on both De Bruyne and City have struggled to get back to the standards they have set for so long. This happens in football as nothing lasts forever. But in the case of De Bruyne, it does appear that this season has been one battle too many for the Manchester City legend.

Watching Kevin De Bruyne play in his last two starts against Real Madrid and Liverpool you can see he no longer has the legs to keep up with the top sides in Europe and England. His mind is willing and you can’t fault his effort and workrate. During Manchester City’s 2-nil defeat to Liverpool yesterday, you could see that the Belgian international was up for the fight. He put himself about until he was substituted in the 66th minute. The problem for De Bruyne is his body just doesn’t match his mind.

READ MORE: You could see signs of where Manchester City are heading at the Etihad despite their 2-nil defeat to Liverpool.

That wouldn’t be a problem if De Bruyne was a similar type of player to Luka Modric. Modric has defied age to remain a key contributor for Real Madrid despite his age. The Croatian legend was never the most athletic player but his tremendous technical and tactical ability remains. But De Bruyne’s game isn’t similar to that of Modric. At his peak, De Bruyne could burst past players before playing in a key ball or getting a shot away. Watching him at the Etihad yesterday you can just see that he can no longer do what he used to. A key element of De Bruyne’s game has faded. That’s the legacy of a host of serious injuries De Bruyne has dealt with in recent times and the fact that he has played deep into a host of seasons as Manchester City has scaled the proverbial mountain several times over.

In the end, this season has been one battle too many for Kevin De Bruyne. You could say the same for nearly the entire Manchester City squad. But in the case of De Bruyne that stood out against Liverpool as for as hard as De Bruyne tried he just couldn’t get into the game as he used to. The end may be coming to De Bruyne’s time at Manchester City. If it is he will remembered for all he has done for the club and in the Premier League, not for his late struggles as Father Time finally catches up to one of the greatest players in Premier League and Manchester City history.