Pep Guardiola said he wants more from Kevin De Bruyne ahead of Manchester City's Champions League tie with RB Leipzig.
De Bruyne tops the Premier League's assists chart with 12 but has not always been a regular starter since returning from the World Cup.
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The Belgium international has been on the bench for three of the last seven league games and was substituted early in the 2-0 win over Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month.
"It's been a difficult season I would say for all of us, me included, for the World Cup and many things, so I'd say the same, I'm not going to discover Kevin," Guardiola told a news conference on Monday.
"Kevin has an ability to do it. What I'd like -- I spoke many times to him -- is to go to the easy principles and do it well. He has an incredible ability to make an assist, to score goals and see passes like no one else.
"But I always have belief they will increase and will get better when the simple things, like don't lose the ball, the mobility, the incredible capacity to be active in the movement, the simple things, do it again better and better.
"When the simple things are done perfectly, we are in the right moment; move outside, inside and when we have to attack the channels or whatever you do or feel in that moment the actions to create incredible passes that he -- only he -- can find, it will be easier, it will be better."
City face RB Leipzig at the Etihad on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Germany. De Bruyne missed the game through illness but is likely to start the second leg after coming on as a late substitute in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
City have not been knocked out before the quarterfinals of the Champions League since losing to Monaco in the round-of-16 in 2017 but Guardiola has warned his players that Leipzig pose a significant threat to that record.
"In the first half [in Leipzig] we were better, in the second half they were better," Guardiola added.
"We saw the game and we've tried to figure out what we are going to do. We'll try to adjust a few things that will maybe help us to have more control and play a bit better.
"Always I believe in transition games, it is always [the toss of] a coin. It can go in your favour or [not] but it is a knockout game and maybe we need to break more of the game, maybe we don't. We will see. In the end the game will dictate what we have to do."
Guardiola is still waiting to win the Champions League with City after last lifting the trophy as Barcelona manager in 2011. De Bruyne is hoping to get his hands on the Champions League for the first time but the 31-year-old said he will have no regrets if he can't get over the line before his time at City is up.
"I don't regret the things I do," he said. "Whatever competition I enter I try to win it. You lose way more than you win but luckily I've been able to win a lot so in that way I am really fortunate.
"If you care about the noise then it's going to annoy people a little bit. We've not won it but we've done really well in the Champions League.
"Obviously I want to win it but I know as long as we don't I'll come here [to the news conference] and get the same questions and I'm fine because people judge you on that. We just try to win these games and be the best people and team we can be."