Kevin de Bruyne does things no one else can do

I’m not sure how good Kevin De Bruyne is.

I know he’s one of the most talented playmakers in the world, and that, at his best, he has helped Manchester City compete for trophies. But it’s not clear to me exactly how valuable he is relative to, say, Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen, or even Liverpool’s Gini Wijnaldum. De Bruyne couldn’t stay on the field last season, logging just two goals and two assists in under 1,000 Premier League minutes, and he’s not a standout defensive contributor even when he’s fully fit.

But this season, signs point to De Bruyne returning to peak playmaking production. Manchester City is only six games into its Premier League campaign, and it has played some bad teams, but KDB’s creativity is quite literally off the charts. According to StatsBomb data, De Bruyne’s 0.72 Expected Assists per 90 minutes is by far the best in the Premier League. He’s more than doubling the chance creating output of 90th percentile players who currently sit at 0.32 Expected Assists per 90, a stat based on the quality of shots created. De Bruyne isn’t just setting his teammates up for shots, he’s setting them up for wide-open looks in the middle of the penalty area. Consistently.

The reason De Bruyne truly stands out to me is that he makes the absolutely best looking plays of anyone in the world. He regularly pulls off goals and assists that no one else can.

He specializes in a specific type of diagonal ball that is not really a through ball nor a cross, but a category of its own. De Bruyne whips in those diagonals with outrageous pace and precision, leaving defenders knowing there was nothing they could have reasonably done to prevent the ball from reaching its intended target.

If I edited De Bruyne to have perfect attributes in FIFA 20 and turned the AI difficulty all the way down, I don’t think I could replicate this assist in the game. Watford’s defenders seem completely oblivious to the possibility that a pass delivered from De Bruyne’s location could reach David Silva at this particular speed and angle.

De Bruyne’s goal from this match was a signature play, as well. He looks like he’s moving slowly, almost indecisively, perhaps looking for a pass instead of a shot. He’s one of the most creative passers in the world, so defenders are justifiably anticipating a pass. He swings at the ball in a way that looks casual, like he’s poking the ball towards the goal just for fun, in case the goalkeeper isn’t paying attention. But it’s not a casual shot at all; it’s an unstoppable rocket into the top corner. It’s like De Bruyne has a sniper scope on his foot.

I don’t know if De Bruyne’s creative output is the product of a small sample of bad opponents. I don’t know if he can play 3,000 minutes in a season again, like he did before last season’s injuries. I just know that I want to keep watching a player who does things with his right foot unlike anyone.