A goal and an assist and a captain’s display that wrenched the contest from Crystal Palace: here was an afternoon to revel in the sublime talent of Kevin De Bruyne.
At 33, he is in the autumn of one of the great careers, but on a sun-dappled east Manchester afternoon De Bruyne illustrated, yet again, his peerlessness. The truism that the best have a crucial extra moment to work with runs through De Bruyne’s decade in a Manchester City shirt, and was displayed in the goal crafted for Mateo Kovacic.
The moment arrived 80 seconds into the second half. The Belgian received a Nico O’Reilly pass from the left and the three Crystal Palace men converging on him all seemed to slow, as he swivelled, left them in a different postcode and laid off to Kovacic, who put City 3-2 ahead.
The lead came after falling two behind. Soon, the champions were two ahead. This was route one the Pep Guardiola way. Ederson, in familiar mode, dropped a punt on to James McAtee’s toes, he rounded the charging-out Dean Henderson and finished.
The relentless De Bruyne should have had a second assist. Popping up on the right, he skimmed across a ball Omar Marmoush should have buried, but Henderson saved.
From 2-0 down to 5-2 at the close proved Guardiola’s assertion that City’s spirit is back and the victory takes them to fourth place, two points ahead of Newcastle, who have played two games less.
Pre-kick-off Guardiola’s selection seemed of the curate’s egg ilk. The positive was McAtee being handed a full Premier League debut but with no Savinho, Jack Grealish, Jérémy Doku (all substitutes) and Phil Foden (injured) the negative seemed a lack of width – and pace, Marmoush apart.
The shape proved a narrow 4-2-2-2, with McAtee and Marmoush positioned at front, De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan the middle pair, and Kovacic and Nico González the holding one.
You saw Guardiola’s thinking when McAtee held a run and Kovacic bounced the ball into a right channel and the No 87 sprang forward. But a left-foot effort plopped into Henderson’s hands.
Weak was the apt characterisation, too, of Palace’s first-half goals. Each was due to powderpuff defending and cast City – and Guardiola – as amateurish. First Daniel Muñoz found an acre of turf along the right. He tapped the ball to Ismaïla Sarr, the cross removed Ederson, and Eberechi Eze turned it home. Guardiola wanted offside but the semi-automated system – in play for a first time this weekend – ruled all fine.
Palace’s second derived from a corner, again on the right. Adam Wharton swung this in with his left to curve the ball at goal, and a host of defenders missed it – primarily Rúben Dias, who did nothing to prevent Chris Richards heading in.
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Guardiola was stunned; City were being schooled as if kids. However, before scoring Richards had tugged at Marmoush as the Egyptian pulled the trigger when racing on to a De Bruyne pass. Guardiola screamed for a penalty, Jarred Gillett ruled not, and Peter Bankes decided – mysteriously – against sending the referee to the monitor.
Now came De Bruyne’s decision to wrest proceedings his way. After a curled effort pinged off Henderson’s right post, a later free-kick offered him another chance from a similar, central zone. The Belgian again aimed to the Palace No 1’s right, and this time scored superbly.
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Urging his team on, De Bruyne was pivotal in the equaliser. In Palace’s goalmouth, he nodded the ball to Gündogan who miskicked, so Marmoush showed how, ramming his shot past Henderson. Before this Eze again beat Ederson but this time the semi-automated offside ruled (correctly) that the No 10 was offside by hie left boot.
As the breathless period closed De Bruyne could have sent his side in ahead, but blazed over from close range. However, he simply came again in a second 45 minutes as scintillating as his first.
A duff note for City was Ederson going off injured. But this was De Bruyne’s day, and the surprise when O’Reilly struck the fifth – his first league goal – was that the man with the strawberry-blond hair was not involved. His standing ovation at the end was richly deserved.