Kevin De Bruyne claimed two assists were taken away from him and that in his mind he had already beaten Thierry Henry's Premier League record for most in a season.

Belgium playmaker De Bruyne was in masterful form as Manchester City hammered relegated Norwich City 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium, scoring two fine goals and setting up Raheem Sterling for another.

His part for Sterling's effort, City's third in their final game of the domestic season, was his 20th top-flight assist of the season, putting him level with Henry's benchmark for Arsenal in the 2002-03 campaign.

However, De Bruyne – perhaps tongue-in-cheek – feels a little short-changed, believing there were two other occasions he should have been given an assist.

The attacking midfielder put in a cross for Sterling to score against Arsenal in December that took a slight deflection, and also provided a throughball for the England international that hit David Luiz on the thigh against the same opponents in June.

"I have got two more – you guys took two away from me that I am still claiming so for me I was already above [Henry]," De Bruyne said about levelling the benchmark of a man who was his former assistant coach with Belgium in quotes reported by BBC Sport.

"It is what it is. I need my team-mates, obviously I am creating for them to score, and I am grateful when they do. It is nice to have [the record] and it is nice to have it with Thierry."