Kevin De Bruyne insists his hunger to win will never change as he strives to end his Manchester City career in style.
The veteran playmaker rolled back the years on Saturday as he sparked City’s comeback from 2-0 down to thrash Crystal Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne equalised with a superb free-kick and then had a hand in the next two goals as City powered to a victory that bolstered the champions’ hopes of finishing in the Premier League top five.
It was De Bruyne’s first home game since it was announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season and the 33-year-old, who has had two injury-hit seasons, asserts he is not finished just yet.
The Belgium international, who also hit the post early in the game, said: “I’ve been feeling good for the last six weeks so I’m really happy. I feel fit and ready to go.
“My job is to play good football and help this team win games.
“We needed a little bit more intensity and I tried to give a little bit to the team. A lot can happen and we know we are capable of creating chances.
“I’m a competitive animal. I don’t like to lose, so for me nothing changes.”
With City’s defence repeatedly stretched, Palace took early control with goals from Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards inside the opening 21 minutes.
It could have been worse for City but Ismaila Sarr spurned a good chance to make it 3-0 and Eze had another disallowed.
De Bruyne’s 33rd-minute free-kick changed the momentum and Omar Marmoush levelled moments later. Mateo Kovavic, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly struck in a one-sided second half.
The win kept the pressure on the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle in the race for Champions League qualification spots.
De Bruyne, a winner of six Premier League titles and Europe’s top-tier competition, said: “That is the goal but but no-one will give it to us. We need to perform like this and hopefully we can do that.”
With Palace destined for a safe mid-table finish in Oliver Glasner’s first full season in charge, their priority would now seem to be their upcoming FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.
Midfielder Adam Wharton believes the defeat has highlighted areas to work on.
He said: “It’s definitely one for us to learn from but I’m sure we’ll be back and we’re ready for the next game.
“I think there’s plenty of positives, especially from the first 15, 20 minutes, but there’s plenty of things for us to learn from and improve.
“We’ll obviously look back at it and try and take the positives from it.”
