Kevin De Bruyne played a starring role as Manchester City came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium.
The Citizens captain – who confirmed last week he will leave the club at the end of the season – grabbed a goal and an assist as they boosted their hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification.
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Goals from Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards put Palace in the driving seat midway through the first half.
Shortly afterwards, Eze thought he had made it 3-0 to the Eagles but the goal was disallowed after being flagged offside by the linesman. This was checked by semi-automated offside technology, for the first time in the Premier League, which confirmed the Englishman had gone too early.
De Bruyne and Omar Marmoush then dragged City level before the break.
Pep Guardiola's team produced arguably their best performance of the season in the second half, with Mateo Kovacic, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly scoring to condemn Palace to their first defeat in 11 away Premier League games.
With Newcastle United and Chelsea not playing until Sunday, City took advantage to move above them into fourth, while Palace stay 11th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
31 | +42 | 73 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
32 | +30 | 63 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
32 | +13 | 57 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
32 | +20 | 55 |
| 5 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
32 | +3 | 54 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
31 | +17 | 53 |
How the match unfolded
City made the brighter start but found themselves behind when, following a sweeping move, an unmarked Eze tucked away Ismaila Sarr's cross at the far post.
Palace doubled their lead in the 21st minute when Richards nodded in Adam Wharton's corner, while semi-automated offside technology – which is being used in the Premier League for the first time this weekend – confirmed the decision to chalk off another Eze strike.
City came roaring back, halving their deficit in the 33rd minute as De Bruyne whipped a 25-yard free-kick in off the post. Marmoush dragged them level three minutes later, drilling home after the ball broke loose in the box.
The hosts completed the turnaround within two minutes of the second half, with De Bruyne teeing up Kovacic to fire home from 20 yards, but they were not done there.
McAtee latched onto Ederson’s long kick and rounded Dean Henderson to make it 4-2 soon afterwards, while O’Reilly’s deflected volley added further gloss to the scoreline 11 minutes from time.
De Bruyne shows City what they will miss
De Bruyne continued his Premier League farewell tour here, making his first appearance at the Etihad Stadium since announcing he will leave Man City at the end of 2024/25.
The early signs were that it would be a frustrating outing for the Belgian, who had a goalbound shot blocked by Richards and also hit a post as his side fell 2-0 behind.
However, he soon put things right with a lovely free-kick, before Marmoush grabbed his sixth goal in as many appearances at City's home ground.
City were rampant after half-time as De Bruyne teed up Kovacic for his 14th goal involvement against Palace in the Premier League; his joint-most against any opponent.
Youngsters McAtee, who had headed a glorious first-half chance wide, and O’Reilly then made the result safe, with City recovering from a shaky start to keep themselves well in the hunt for Champions League qualification.
One slight concern for Guardiola will be the fitness of Ederson, however, after the goalkeeper limped off late on.
Everton and Aston Villa are next up for City, before attention turns to their FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest – and their last hope of salvaging silverware from the campaign.
Eagles brought back down to earth
Palace arrived at the Etihad Stadium seeking to extend their longest unbeaten Premier League run away from Selhurst Park, stretching back 10 matches.
Oliver Glasner’s side had also gone seven games in all competitions without losing, and their confidence was evident whenever they countered early on.
The Eagles had plenty of joy down the right flank, from where they broke the deadlock through Eze, while the corner that led to Richards’ goal also came from that side.
However, the momentum seemed to shift when Sarr fired over from eight yards out, before Eze saw a potential third goal chalked off due to a narrow offside decision.
By half-time, their lead had disappeared, and City only grew stronger in the second half.
Glasner attempted to bolster his midfield by taking off Jean-Philippe Mateta for Will Hughes at the break, but the hosts were just too strong and were never going to relent once they got their noses in front.
Despite the defeat, there were still plenty of positives for Palace, and that is what they must focus on with Newcastle, AFC Bournemouth and Arsenal providing their next three Premier League opponents, before facing Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Club reports
Man City report | Crystal Palace report
What the managers said
Pep Guardiola: "I would say we played really good all game. We were 2-0 down and we created a lot and I said at half time we were playing good. Our momentum was sparked with a free-kick from Kevin and after that we played a really good game considering we were 2-0 down and considering how Crystal Palace have been in the past games."
Oliver Glasner: "Of course we are very disappointed, especially when you start like we did and go two goals up. But the pressure increased and our defensive structure was not on our top level today, and a team like Manchester City find those small gaps. It gives us confidence as we know we can score goals, but we need to be more compact and we will learn from this game."
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Key facts
This is the eighth time that Man City have won a Premier League game having been two or more goals down, with only Manchester United (14) and Tottenham Hotspur (9) doing so more times in the competition's history.
Crystal Palace have lost a Premier League game in which they led by two or more goals for the first time since August 2022, with that defeat also coming away at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City (lost 4-2).
Man City have scored 5+ goals in a single Premier League match on 63 different occasions, five more than any other team in the competition, with 39 of those coming under Guardiola.
De Bruyne has both scored and assisted in 28 different Premier League games, with only Mohamed Salah (42), Wayne Rooney (36), Thierry Henry (32) and Alan Shearer (31) doing so more often in the competition’s history.
