London, UK

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has lavished praise on star man Kevin de Bruyne after he helped his side cruise to a 4-2 win against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday (April 6). The Premier League contest which had huge bearings on the title race, saw City come up with goods despite conceding a goal in the opening three minutes. However, a brace from De Bruyne coupled with goals from Rico Lewis and Erling Haaland saw City come up with three points. After the match, Pep praised his players particularly De Bruyne as they went second in the Premier League standings.

Advertisment

×

Pep lavishes praise at KDB

"In the first half, we did make mistakes but we made a comeback. Kevin de Bruyne won the game with his actions, his assists, his goals, and everything. We won the game with him. I didn't know that [de Bruyne] enjoyed scoring goals more than assists, but I keep pushing him to say we have to win games. He has won many games for us, no doubt. It was really good for his performance,” Pep said while speaking to TNT Sports after the match.

Advertisment

City were not at their best in the opening 15 minutes and had the opposition hunting at them on the counterattack. City conceded in the third minute leaving question marks on the coach’s tactics, having decided to drop Phil Foden in the match. However, a second-half comeback coupled with De Bruyne’s first half goal saw City dominate the opposition to win 4-2.

ALSO READ | IPL 2024: CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad faces heat for MS Dhoni's batting order in loss vs SRH

Premier League title race in full swing

Advertisment

The win saw the Blue side of Manchester go on 70 points level with Liverpool for points earned at the top. However, a poor goal difference sees them sit second in the table with Arsenal in action later in the day. City are aiming to become the first team in English football to win four consecutive Premier League titles.

They next take on Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday in the first leg and will look to gain an early advantage. City are still in the hunt to win back-to-back trebles and will play Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinal later in the month. The likes of De Bruyne, Haaland and Foden will be expected to play a key role in the club’s crucial run for silverware.