Kevin De Bruyne has admitted it has been ‘chaotic’ at Manchester City recently as the defending Premier League champions have lost ground on Liverpool.
The Reds sit eight points clear of their title rivals after another weekend of differing fortunes for Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola. After City were thrashed 4-0 by Tottenham at the Etihad, Liverpool took full advantage as it came from behind to beat Southampton 3-2 on Sunday.
With City set to travel to Anfield this weekend, Liverpool will have the chance to go 11 points clear of its rival, and the Reds will no doubt be buoyed by their opponents’ recent form. The defending champions have lost each of their last five games across all competitions – the first time that has happened to Guardiola in his managerial career.
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City has not been helped by injuries to key players, with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri the biggest miss after being ruled out for the rest of the season. They’re also without Mateo Kovacic and Oscar Bobb at the moment, although Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku returned to training ahead of their Champions League clash with Feyenoord on Tuesday.
Despite players returning, City have struggled, with a number of players seemingly lacking fitness. Speaking during a press conference on Monday, De Bruyne admitted the club’s treatment room has become something of a warzone.
“It has been a bit chaotic, I have seen so many people passed around the medical area,” De Bruyne said.
Manchester City has lost its last five games across all competitions (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
“Seeing who is playing, who is not, people who shouldn’t be playing but did with an injury, these games we were all over the place. Everyone is a bit down but we have to move on.”
De Bruyne is one of those who has had to play through the pain barrier recently. The Belgian has struggled for fitness this season, having suffered a hamstring injury early on in the campaign, and even after making his return before the most recent international break, he hasn’t been able to find his usual rhythm.
“Every time I would shoot the ball I would get real, real pain,’ De Bruyne said. ‘Everything with the nerves around it was creating pain in my groin. I was trying to find methods to get better, to get my power back but it took a long time. It only got better on Friday, I don’t know why, I can’t explain it.”
