There's no other midfielder like De Bruyne - Martinez

The attacking midfielder was at his sparkling best on Monday in a routine win for his nation 

 

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez believes when Kevin De Bruyne is at his best, there's no other midfielder like him. 

De Bruyne produced another scintillating display with three assists and a goal as Belgium eased past Scotland 4-0 in Euro 2020 qualifying on Monday.

The playmaker has also managed one goal and five assists for two-time reigning Premier League champions City this term.

That form has left Martinez in little doubt over just how much quality De Bruyne possesses. 

"He's been very, very good for a long time now," Martinez told Sky Sports post-match.

"I think he's in the best moment of his career. This campaign has started with a freshness and real driven feeling of playing at his best and when he does that he's as good as it gets. There's no other midfield player that can create space, a playmaker that can execute the passes that he does. It's a joy to see him fitting into the group.

"It's fair to say today was a big win for us. It's a big, big step. We need to keep getting tighter as a group and keep getting better." 

While in career-best form, the Manchester City star was coy when asked if there were any other players in the world performing as well as he has been. 

"Fortunately I don't have to judge that," De Bruyne said.

"I just have to play well. I'm just content. I'm feeling good. I have already played many matches and am starting to come into my rhythm. That is important, because there are still many games to play.

 "When your career is over, you can see what you have done afterwards. But right now I just want to win competitions. The faster we do that, the better. That can also be very important for the rest of the season."

After beating both San Marino and Scotland 4-0, Belgium remain top of Group I for Euro 2020 qualifying, having won all six of their games to date. 

While De Bruyne stole the show on Monday, Martinez stressed the Red Devils performed well as a team against Scotland.

“It wasn’t just the quality of play – we know the quality we have,” he said.

“Today we had to be very good in many aspects. We had to work very hard off the ball - Scotland are growing into becoming a technical team. We had to be clinical and the first goal shows you that.

"From then on, it was very easy to switch off. But the back three and Thibaut [Courtois] and the whole team, it was very pleasing to get a clean sheet."