Pep Guardiola could not hide his admiration from Kevin De Bruyne, who announced that he will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, after the Belgian had inspired a comeback win in Crystal Palace
Pep Guardiola greeted a Kevin De Bruyne Masterclass after the Belgian inspired a comeback in Manchester City in one of his last games in the Etihad.
City now only has three Premier League home matches left before De Bruyne leaves and they seemed to be on their way to a defeat in their latest match when goals from Ebereechi Eze and Chris Richards Crystal Palace gave a lead of two goals within 21 minutes.
But De Bruyne, 33, shot a free kick home and led a city exchange with goals from Omar Marmoush, Mateo Kovacic, James McATee and Nico O'Reilly.
And Guardiola stated: “Kevin is free without pain and completely different. That was the Kevin that we have known for many years. His achievements are what he did in many, many games. I know he can deliver. He was so smart. He helped a lot to win that game – Kevin, with a free kick, changed the moment. He was fantastic.
“He has a unique talent, a vision in the pass and when the players are beforehand and Kevin has the ball, they know they can run because the ball will be delivered.
“The gratitude I have for him is huge. Nobody can do what Kevin has done.”
De Bruyne received a thunderous ovation when he was replaced at the end of the 5-2 victory of the city and enjoys his last moments in a stadium that he adorned for almost ten years.
He said: “I want to leave with a Champions League for this team because they earn it. We have been in the Champions League for the nine, ten years that I have been here, so I hope we can do that for the team next year and I will just try to play good football as I have always done.”
And his manager clearly believes that City finally comes somewhere near the best and says: “If you see the opportunities we had, we could have scored eight or nine … Easy. We scored five, but I remember three chances for McATEE, one for Kevin, two for Omar. That's the way we have done it for many years and the way we do it.
And Guardiola was full of praise for one of his younger players and for one of his senior players. The city manager said: “Ilkay Gundogan was extraordinary today and I know that the quality that James McATEE has in the last third part. He scored one goal, he could have scored four because he feels he is coming in the box.”
And Guardiola is now looking for a grandstand -finish of a disappointing season and says: “Now we have two days off and the players must be mentally equipped, prepare for four or five days on Goodison and then an important week with Aston Villa and the FA Cup. I think we are ready.
“The players are exceptional. We have not found the spark to lift the players for many months, but you cannot always win and with the season we have done, other teams would be 10th or 12th, I promise you.
“The Premier League speaks for itself. It is not perfect, but it is in our hands for the last six games to qualify for the CL next season.”
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