De Bruyne shines as Manchester City thrash Crystal Palace 5 2 in Champions League push

MANCHESTER – As Kevin de Bruyne prepares to leave Manchester City, he added more memorable moments to his decade-long highlight reel by leading them to a remarkable 5-2 comeback victory over Crystal Palace on April 12.

Pep Guardiola’s team faced a significant threat to their Champions League aspirations when they fell behind to goals from Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards.

In his first home game since confirming his departure at the end of the season, de Bruyne delivered a captivating performance reminiscent of his status as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats, despite his recent struggles with injuries.

The Belgian midfielder, who has been at City since 2015, netted a free kick to spark the revival before Omar Marmoush equalised three minutes later.

Mateo Kovacic converted de Bruyne’s assist to put City ahead after the interval and goals from youngsters James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly sealed the escape act.

“Kevin with a free kick changed the momentum,” Guardiola told TNT Sports when asked what sparked City’s comeback. “We scored two and after the second half started, our next two goals were quick. We could have scored eight or nine easy... The work ethic, the way we played was really good.”

The only concern for Guardiola was an injury to Ederson that forced the City goalkeeper to come off in the second half.

City had dropped out of the top five after Newcastle United’s win at Leicester City on April 7, but this victory lifted them into fourth place.

Sixth-placed Chelsea will go back above them if they beat struggling Ipswich Town on April 13, however, while seventh-placed Newcastle are only two points behind and have two games in hand.

Guardiola’s side found themselves trailing after just eight minutes when Ismaila Sarr’s low cross saw Eze finish with ease at