Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne believes the club don't " need to beat the last two seasons," saying the Premier League could be won with "85 points".
Pep Guardiola's side are going for three English league titles in a row. They won in the 2017-18 by getting 100 points, 19 clear of their nearest rivals Manchester United. Last season, it was tighter. Manchester City finished with 98 points - and only had one to spare on Liverpool to clinch their fourth Premier League crown and sixth league title overall.
Looking forward to the new season, the Belgian international said to Sky Sports, "it is not about improving, it is about staying consistent, trying to be there every game, trying to win every game. It is not always about doing better, because how can you do better sometimes?
"To win every year what we won the last two years is going to be pretty difficult but it is good to be there."
The 28-year-old signed for the Citizens from German-side Wolfsburg in the summer of 2015 for a then-club record fee of around €75 million (£55 million). Last season when the club won a treble of trophies, including the FA Cup and the League Cup - he only started 11 Premier League games.
De Bruyne has played throughout the club's pre-season tour to Asia, and he says he took a break with his family, saying it was much needed as last summer's World Cup in Russia made two seasons feel like they ran into each other.
The Belgian said, "I did nothing for three weeks. I just wanted to be away from football. I had been playing for two years straight. I just wanted to enjoy myself a little bit. Physically you can be OK but I think it is more mentally. It is tough to go two years straight for everybody and not have a proper break. That is what happened in the last two years.
"Now I felt for myself that is was necessary to just slow it down a little bit and go again in pre-season. I knew I would have enough time now to prepare myself for the season, so that's what I decided to do."
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