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Hard Yards: Kevin de Bruyne Leads Champions League in Impressive Stat Category

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Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne may have been earning plenty of plaudits with his goals (1) and assists (3) in the Champions League this season, but the Belgian playmaker has been putting in plenty of hard yards as well.

Running vast distances is not something usually associated with players of De Bruyne's type, who can often be considered lazy, but the City star has made sure he cannot be tarred with the same brush after covering more ground than any other Champions League player.

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Data sourced from UEFA.com reveals that De Bruyne is the only player in the competition to have run in excess of 48km - 48,052m to be precise - after four matchdays so far.

That puts him ahead of Atletico Madrid midfield star Saul Niguez, who has covered just over 47.6km, and Fred of Shakhtar Donetsk, just over 47km.

APOEL's Vinicius and Chelsea's Marcos Alonso complete the top five for most distance covered, while another Shakhtar player in Taras Stepanenko is 6th on the list on 46.7km.

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Nemanja Matic has been covering the ground for Manchester United this season, with 46.2km under his belt, while a handful of Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow player also feature in the top 20, giving an insight into the demands and coaching styles at both clubs.

Top 20 Most Distance Covered in Champions League This Season (UEFA.com):

Player

Minutes Played

Distance Covered (km)

Kevin de Bruyne (Man City)

360

48.1km

Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid)

360

47.6km

Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk)

360

47km

Vinicius (APOEL)

360

47km

Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)

360

46.8km

Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk)

360

46.7km

Richard Almeida (Qarabag)

360

46.5km

Luca Zuffi (Basel)

360

46.3km

Nemanja Matic (Man Utd)

360

46.2km

Fernando (Spartak Moscow)

360

45.9km

Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP)

357

45.7km

Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord)

360

45.7km

Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht)

360

45.4km

Tonny Vilhenna (Feyenoord)

360

45.4km

Aleksandr Golovin (CKSA Moscow)

357

45.1km

Jean-Paul Boetius (Feyenoord)

360

45km

Georgi Schennikov (CSKA Moscow)

360

44.8km

Scot Brown (Celtic)

340

44.7km

Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)

337

44.4km

Michael Lang (Basel)

360

44.3km