Manchester City have made the perfect start to the season and they lead the Premier League after seven games. 

Pep Guardiola's team have 19 points and top the league on goal difference ahead of rivals Manchester United. 

They smashed Liverpool 5-0 a couple of weeks ago but their best performance so far came against Chelsea last weekend. 

The Citizen's beat Antonio Conte's defending champions 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, dominating the match. 

And they did so without star striker Sergio Aguero, who was injured in a car crash in Amsterdam a few days earlier. 

Going to the defending champions is hard enough, but beating them without your star man is even more admirable. 

A 67th-minute screamer from midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was enough to sink Chelsea, who were outplayed all over the pitch.  

Even though it was the Belgian's first goal of the season, De Bruyne has been very impressive without hitting the net in City's other six games. 

He's been so good in fact, that manager Guardiola has been singing his praises. But it's not just his boss that he's been impressing.

The 26-year-old has been such an important player for City that some have been comparing him to Barcelona's talisman, Lionel Messi. 

For most players, it's an honour to even be mentioned in the same breath as Barca's number 10, let alone be compared to the Argentine legend. 

Following the praise, Belgian newspaper Le Soir asked De Bruyne what it felt like to be compared to the world's best. 

“It’s not up to me to say, but it’s nice to hear too," he said, as per Goal. 

"Beyond that, there’s no point focusing on my individual performance. In my eyes, City are a very credible title challenger now more than ever as they are winning in the big games.”

It's great to see that the Belgian still very much has his feet on the ground, even after such a great start to the season. 

It's clear De Bruyne's got the ability, as well as the attitude to help City to success this season. 

The club are seriously chasing Premier League and Champions League glory, and if they're to be successful come May, their midfield star will be key to the challenge.