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Kevin De Bruyne was at the heart of Manchester City’s stirring comeback against Crystal Palace, as the veteran midfielder declared his ambition to lead the club back into the Champions League before bidding farewell this summer.
In what was his first home appearance since the announcement of his departure at the end of the season, De Bruyne produced a stellar performance to guide City from two goals down to a resounding 5-2 victory at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Belgian gave his side hope with a sensational first-half free-kick after goals from Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards had given Palace an early advantage. Omar Marmoush levelled before the break, and within two minutes of the restart, De Bruyne provided the assist for Mateo Kovacic to fire City into the lead.
Further strikes from youngsters James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly capped off a dominant turnaround, lifting City back into fourth place as they continue their push for a top-five finish — now likely to secure Champions League football due to England’s strong European performance this season.
Reflecting on the win and his desire to sign off on a high, De Bruyne said: “I think it was important to score as quickly as possible and change the feeling of the game a bit. I didn’t think we were playing that badly but the scoreline wasn’t good at all. We went from there.
“I want to go away with a Champions League [spot] for this team because they deserve it. We’ve been in the Champions League for the nine, ten years that I’ve been here, so I hope we can do that for the team next year and I’ll just try to play good football like I’ve always done.”
De Bruyne has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons and is no longer the driving force he once was during City’s era of dominance, which has yielded six Premier League titles in seven seasons. Nevertheless, Saturday’s showing proved he still has plenty to offer in the closing chapter of his City career.
City boss Pep Guardiola paid tribute to his long-serving midfielder, saying: “The performance of Kevin — as he has done for many, many years — was fantastic. He helped us to break this momentum that was not good.
“The gratitude we have, I have, for him is huge. He’s done incredible and I know that he can deliver. Today he was fouled, but with the ball he was so clever and, with the goals and assists, he helped a lot to win that game.
“From 2-0 down it was not easy, but we stuck with the plan. We now have six games left and we need points to qualify for the Champions League, so this has been massively important.”
