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De Bruyne’s fading fitness levels

Kevin De Bruyne had to wait until the 74th minute to be introduced against Tottenham, by which point the outcome had become a foregone conclusion. During the run of five consecutive defeats which has thrown Manchester City’s season into disarray, he has only been able to play a total of 38 minutes.

His lack of fitness, as he struggles to fully recover from a hamstring injury suffered in September, is a major headache for Pep Guardiola. City were able to cope without him for much of last season but it’s a different story with Rodri also absent from their midfield.

De Bruyne has not started a game since City’s Champions League opener against Inter two months ago. At 33, with more than 700 games under his belt for club and country, the workload is catching up with him in the form of repeated hamstring problems.

Guardiola will hope to have him available to start games soon. But, as with his cameo against Spurs, the worry is that it might come too late. The past two seasons have revealed that his body is no longer reliable. However, at the age of 34, questions are finally being raised about Walker’s ability to handle such situations. The sight of Timo Werner easily pulling away from him for the fourth Tottenham goal was concerning, as Walker has long relied on his pace to bail himself and his team out of trouble. Despite still clocking a respectable top speed of 33.61 kilometres per hour this season, it falls outside the top 100 players in the Premier League. The data contains some noise as it relies on the need to run, but it is concerning as it suggests a decline.