Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne as “one of the best players in the history of Manchester City” after the Belgian scored two goals in their 4-2 victory at Crystal Palace.
De Bruyne cancelled out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early opener before Rico Lewis fired the visitors into the lead less than two minutes after half-time.
Guardiola’s men then took control, with Erling Haaland adding another before De Bruyne struck his 100th in a City shirt in the 70th minute.
Odsonne Edouard clawed one back for Palace late on, but Guardiola praised the influence of Belgium playmaker De Bruyne as City kept up the pressure on Premier League title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal.
City boss Guardiola said: “Today Kevin won the game. Without Kevin today maybe we would not be able to win, so when we talk about tactics, about managers, having players like Kevin in these kinds of games, it’s easy.
“I listen to him on the bus, in the locker room, in the training session, (he) laughs, and we are safe. His body language dictates a lot how he is, and all the players, but especially Kevin.
“How many years has he been with us, nine years, 10 years? The numbers, the presence, the consistency have been amazing. He’s one of the best players in the history of Manchester City.”
De Bruyne told his club’s website: “Yeah, it’s funny. I had a conversation with Erling [Haaland] and Phil [Foden] and said the only goal I want is to score 100 before you guys.
“Erling was like 18 behind but he would probably score that in two games.
“It’s a proud moment. It means that I’ve had longevity here. It means a lot of good moments for this club.”
City have a quick turnaround before facing Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, and their boss admitted their crowded calendar – which will also see them face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals later this month – continues to prove challenging.
Guardiola added: “We were not solid like we normally are in terms of organisation, transition, but especially we gave away the first goal, but this is more a consequence for the fact that three days, three days, three days.
“The mental energy that we waste more than physicality is tremendous and that’s why sometimes that happens.”
Palace have still won just one match since Oliver Glasner replaced Roy Hodgson in February.
They showed plenty of promise, particularly in a determined first half that saw Jordan Ayew hit the crossbar, but their boss wanted more from his men.
Glasner said: “For me it’s a little bit difficult, because when you lose 4-2 I’m never satisfied or happy with the result, but I could see many positive things today in our game.
“We can see if we do our job, how we want to play on a very high level. We are competitive against any team and this gives me confidence again.”
Hayes has 'smile' back after stress made her feel 'unwell' at Chelsea
Emma Hayes revealed she feels refreshed as the United States head coach after stress at the end of her time at Chelsea made her feel "unwell".
Hayes was in charge of the Blues for 12 years, during which she won seven Women's Super League titles, including each of the last five between 2019-20 and 2023-24.
Overall, she oversaw 345 games in all competitions, winning 244 of those (70.72%-win rate).
The 48-year-old left Chelsea at the end of last season, pulling off a stunning comeback in the WSL title race to beat Manchester City to the title on goal difference, and took over as the USA women's head coach in May.
She led the team to Olympic gold in her first tournament, going unbeaten on their tournament run in Paris.
Asked about the perks of international football compared to a domestic level, Hayes admitted the latter had taken its toll on her.
"I don't have to sacrifice the things that made me healthy. I didn't feel healthy at the end, I actually felt unwell at the end of my time at Chelsea," she said in a press conference.
"It wasn't pressure, it was the stress and toll it took on me and doing that during menopause was even harder.
"To get on top of all of those things, I've got my mojo back and my smile and enjoyment back, which I didn't realise I had lost."
The USA will face England at Wembley on Saturday, and Hayes will face off against some of her former players, with Millie Bright, Hannah Hampton and Aggie Beever-Jones in the Lionesses squad.
Hayes, though, is determined to keep her unbeaten start as USA head coach intact against her home nation.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Sarina [Wiegman]," she said. "Of course, I need to go through a weird moment when the national anthems are being played.
"I'll hum along to it [God Save the King] being the English person I am, but also the same for the US one because I love it, I love both anthems.
"Beyond that weird moment and coming up against players I've gone to war with, it's business come kick-off. I hope it's an entertaining game and a sell-out."
Premier League MD12: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
Pep Guardiola may have signed a new contract at Manchester City, but there was no turnaround in fortunes for the Premier League champions.
City were humbled 4-0 by Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, losing a fifth straight game in all competitions.
Liverpool capitalised on that result, coming from behind to beat lowly Southampton 3-2 on Sunday and moving eight points clear at the top in the process.
Ruben Amorim made his bow as Manchester United boss in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road, while Chelsea and Arsenal are hot on Man City's heels.
We also saw a managerial departure, with Leicester City parting ways with Steve Cooper after four league matches without a win.
But, who were the unlucky losers, and lucky winners, from the weekend's Premier League fixtures?
Unlucky losers: Fulham
Man City were not the only team to ship four goals on Saturday, with Fulham also having that unwanted badge of honour following their 4-1 home loss to Wolves.
But while Wolves were excellent on the counter and clinical when their chances came, it is fair to say Fulham were unfortunate to concede four times, given they only gave up 1.3 expected goals against (xGA).
Indeed, Fulham and Wolves both had 10 shots, while both teams also had 23 touches in the opponents' box.
It was a bad day at the office for Marco Silva, but he can at least take solace that the numbers suggest they were somewhat unfortunate.
Unlucky losers: Bournemouth
Bournemouth were beaten 2-1 by Brighton on Saturday, as the Seagulls held off their south coast rivals despite Carlos Baleba's red card.
David Brooks pulled one back for Bournemouth late on, as Andoni Iraola's team fell short of their 1.6 xG.
Brighton, on the other hand, accumulated just 0.9 xG, the third-lowest total of any of the 18 games to have been played across Saturday and Sunday.
Bournemouth had 19 shots but only got five of them on target. Brighton, on the other hand, sent four of their six attempts on target.
Lucky winners: Tottenham
Time for some controversy...
Spurs were brilliant against City, with James Maddison marking his 28th birthday with a first-half double before Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson got in on the act after the break.
Yet, the metrics suggest Tottenham were fortunate to keep a clean sheet, with City - who had 23 attempts - accumulating 2.1 xG.
That is not to say Spurs were not impressive going the other way. They finished with 2.5 xG from just nine shots, showing they created high-calibre chances.
But should it really have been 4-0? The numbers suggest not, but then again, stats must always be used within context and should not be all we go off.
De Bruyne describes 'chaotic' Man City scenes
Kevin De Bruyne conceded there has been some chaos behind the scenes at Manchester City, but refuted the suggestion there is a dark atmosphere.
City have lost their last five games in all competitions, while they are eight points back from leaders Liverpool in the Premier League.
Their dismal run of form continued with a shock 4-0 loss at home to Tottenham on Saturday.
De Bruyne, who has featured just six times in the Premier League this season and made just four starts, says there is not a bad mood in the camp, though.
"I wouldn't say dark, it's been a bit chaotic," said the Belgian ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Feyenoord.
"I've seen so many people pass around the medical area, sport science, whose playing and not playing. There's been so many people playing who shouldn't have been playing.
"The games against Sporting, Brighton and Bournemouth were all over the place. Tottenham was more normal.
"I didn't see too much change, everyone is down about the five losses. You have to move on."
City have already shipped 17 league goals this term, while they were beaten 4-1 by Sporting CP in their last European outing.
Since their losing run started with a 2-1 loss to Spurs in the EFL Cup on October 30, City have conceded 14 goals from 10.6 expected goals against (xGA).
"There's only so much you can control from the sides. It's not a nice feeling but it's fine," De Bryne added.
"It seems like we're not really dealing with the moments when it goes bad. There's moments like the Tottenham game which we do really well. The main issue is both boxes. We're conceding too many goals. I don't think we played a bad game the other day but we lost 4-0."
"If you give five chances against Tottenham, that's not that bad. They get two tap-ins. With the way we play, you have to accept there's more opportunity for teams to have a counter. At the moment, we're not dealing with this in a good way.
"We're always going to give a chance away. We're giving it away too many times. When we give a chance at goal, it's basically a goal."
De Bruyne is out of contract at the end of the season, though the 33-year-old is not overly concerned about his future.
"I honestly don't know. At the start of the season, I knew talks would happen but then the thing [injury] happened in Brentford. It was meant to be a couple of days and then it was eight, nine weeks. I put it all to the side," he added.
"I'm not too worried. I'm fine. I'm happy, I just want to play good football again and the future, we'll see.
"I only can really give you the answers, but I don't know. If there's no talks it will be my last year at the club, but I don't know.
"I had a conversation in the summer, but then I had the injury so I wasn't in the right frame of mind to talk about that. I need to be back on the pitch and be myself again. There's no rush, I don't feel uncomfortable, I'm not worried."
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