Kevin De Bruyne says he is finally playing without pain again after inspiring Manchester City to a 5-2 comeback victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Fitness issues have meant that the captain has made only 14 Premier League starts this season, and last week De Bruyne announced he would be leaving the club in the summer. But he sparked Man City's comeback from 2-0 down against Palace by scoring their first goal with a free-kick before setting up Mateo Kovacic to complete their turnaround.
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"I'm happy," De Bruyne said. "The last month I've felt so much better. The pain went away. The difference for me to play pain-free is night and day.
"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 bad but the scoreline wasn't good at all. We went from there."
His manager Pep Guardiola praised the impact of the Belgian, saying he had been restricted in his play for more than a year.
"[That is] the Kevin we have known for many years," Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day. "I know he's struggled the last year and a half. He's free without pain and completely different.
"The way we played helped him a lot, with incredible runners, the young lads, the full-backs."
'I want to leave City with club in Champions League'
As he nears the end of his career at City, De Bruyne added that he wants to leave the club with a UEFA Champions League place wrapped up. The win over Palace moved them up to fourth, with the top five teams set to go into the UEFA Champions League.
| 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 |
"I want to go away with a Champions League [spot] for this team because they deserve it," he said. "We've been in the Champions League for the nine, 10 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."
The victory was only the third time that a Premier League club have come from two goals down to win by three in Premier League history, and the first time in 13 years.
The previous times were Arsenal's 5-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in 2021, while three years earlier Manchester United beat Spurs by the same scoreline.
