"King" Kevin De Bruyne produced "his best performance in months" in a Manchester City shirt as he inspired the club to a "phenomenal" comeback win over Crystal Palace last weekend, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.
The Belgian playmaker was making his first appearance at the Etihad Stadium since announcing that he will be leaving Man City when his contract expires at the end of the season.
De Bruyne was handed a second successive Premier League start as captain by Pep Guardiola and helped the Citizens rally from two goals down in the opening 21 minutes to overwhelm the Eagles by a 5-2 scoreline.
A trademark first-half free kick from the 33-year-old sparked City's revival, and he was also involved in Omar Marmoush's leveller before setting up Mateo Kovacic less than two minutes after the restart to fire the Citizens ahead.
Academy graduates James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly also got their names on the scoresheet to help Guardiola's side climb back into the top five and boost their Champions League qualification hopes.
"Kev's the king" - De Bruyne brilliance hailed after comeback win
McInerney, who was in attendance at the Etihad, believes that Man City were fortunate to not be trailing by more than two goals in the opening half hour following a "terrible" start against Palace, but he was full of praise for De Bruyne and how he stepped up to drive the Citizens to victory.
"It was as bad a start as you could ask for really," McInerney told Sports Mole. "I'm going to be honest, If that [Eberechi] Eze goal is allowed (a disallowed goal at 2-0) - and he's only an inch or two offside there - if that happens, there's no way City win this comfortably. A real sliding doors moment.
"City were fortunate to not go 3-0 behind, but they reacted really, really well. In the end, it could have been 7-2 - that's not an exaggeration.
"I could see Pep very close up and he looked a bit lost if I'm being totally honest, just sheer frustration and [had] no real answer.
"Sometimes when you're down in the dumps, you need brilliance and you need someone to pick you up and put them on the shoulders, and there's been no one better than that in the past 10 years than Kevin De Bruyne for City. The game turned on his will really. A phenomenal comeback."
McInerney added: "Kev's the king. He's my favourite ever footballer to put it simply. It felt like a real honour - and I think there was a sense of that around the stadium as well - to witness [his performance].
© Imago
'90% of KDB was still better than anyone else on the pitch'
"It was his best performance in months, probably since the start of the season, where he looked in decent shape and was playing without pain.
"His passing was back as well, the crosses to the back post for [Omar] Marmoush - it was just all there again, and the long range shots and the bullishness. He's obviously still not 100% KDB, but that was 90% KDB, and that's still better than anyone else on the pitch. He was special.
"Towards the end of the game, he was subbed off and seeing Rodri stand up in the crowd and applaud him off the pitch... you realise how special this guy is and what he's done for Manchester City and his impact on the game.
"I think it's fair to say if he's not in that team, we don't win that game, we don't turn that round. That was sheer force of will and only brilliant players can do that.
"It's a decent chance that could have been his last ever home goal. I was just honoured to be there to witness another Kevin De Bruyne masterclass because I've been saying I just want to see another De Bruyne masterclass. I want to see it again before he goes, because the City fans, we deserve it."
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
