Man City News

0 chances, 0 turnovers – Man City midfielder underperformed in World Cup defeat [Opinion]

|

Belgium suffered a 2-0 defeat to Morocco in their second World Cup group game on Sunday afternoon and Kevin De Bruyne was one of many players who underperformed.

The 31-year-old started in an attacking-midfield role with Eden Hazard and Thorgan but wasn’t at his best at Al Thumama stadium and won’t be pleased with how his World Cup campaign is going.

De Bruyne was named Man of the Match in Belgium’s 3-1 win over Canada but admitted he thought he had a bad game. The 31-year-old didn’t fare much better against Morocco either, so things aren’t quite going to plan.

Against Morocco, De Bruyne had 77 touches, won two aerial duels, completed 72% of his 50 passes, created one chance, failed to register a shot on target, won two freekicks, failed to make a successful dribble, had five unsupported touches, failed to make a tackle, had one clearance, whipped in one accurate cross and failed to make an interception.

The Belgian wasn’t turning over possession, nor was he really creating opportunities at the other end, so De Bruyne was very ineffective. Roberto Martinez kept him on the pitch for 90 minutes, but he could do nothing to stop Morocco running out worthy winners.

In other news, stats show Julian Alvarez is struggling at World Cup

The Vital Network is unique from other football content providers as all the sites are run by the fans, for the fans. We are looking for a writer to join our Manchester City site. If you can write well-constructed, thought-provoking opinion pieces alongside reporting on current events and breaking news then I want to hear from you. Email paddy@snack-media.com.

Can you name these Man City players from the 2000s? Test your knowledge, take the quiz and challenge your friends and family to beat your score

1 of 10

He joined from Newcastle in 2000 and left to join FC Sochaux in 2003

Share this article

Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.