Kevin De Bruyne was the star of the show as Manchester City rallied from two goals down to beat Oliver Glasner's Crystal Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League's early kick-off on Saturday.
Belgian playmaker De Bruyne started the day knowing he had only four more home appearances before he leaves City at the end of the season, and he was the architect of a stunning comeback by Pep Guardiola's side.
Six days after facing heavy criticism for their showing in the derby draw at Old Trafford, City were more like their old selves in a captivating clash.
However, inkeeping with their struggles this season, City made life difficult for themselves and they fell two goals behind inside 21 minutes, as Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards face the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
However, City responded after Palace saw a potential third goal chalked off due to a marginal decision from the newly introduced semi-automated offside system and then departing captain De Bruyne took centre stage.
First, De Bruyne equalised as he outfoxed Palace keeper Dean Henderson with a brilliant free-kick in the 33rd minute. Omar Marmoush drew City level before halftime with his seventh goal for the club, and Mateo Kovacic then buried De Bruyne’s pass into the bottom corner just a minute after the restart.
James McAtee finally found the net after squandering a couple of clear openings on his full Premier League debut, sprinting onto Ederson's long ball, rounding Henderson, and slotting it home. Nico O'Reilly's deflected shot, which took a deflection, then wrapped up the scoring as City netted five times in a top-flight home fixture for the first time this campaign.
It was a spectacular way to conclude an unusual stretch of six City matches that had yielded only 10 goals.
Crucially, the win lifted them back into fourth in the Premier League standings and increased the pressure on Chelsea and Newcastle in the race for a Champions League berth.
