Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne's performance after the playmaker sparked Manchester City's comeback in their resounding 5-2 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards put Palace into a 2-0 lead after 21 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, but City responded in emphatic fashion.

De Bruyne scored their first goal with a 25-yard free-kick before Omar Marmoush levelled shortly after. The Belgian then set up Mateo Kovacic for City's third in the second half, before James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly finished the rout.

It is a win that moved City up to fourth in the Premier League, with Newcastle United and Chelsea not playing until Sunday, putting them in the driving seat for Champions League qualification.

City captain De Bruyne, who last week announced he will be leaving the club at the end of the season, has both scored and assisted in 28 different Premier League games, with only Mohamed Salah (42), Wayne Rooney (36), Thierry Henry (32) and Alan Shearer (31) doing so more often.

He also became just the sixth player to score 30 goals from outside the penalty box in the Premier League, netting his fifth direct free-kick in this game.

"[It's] the Kevin we have known for many years," Guardiola told BBC Sport. "I know he's struggled the last year and a half.

"He's free without pain and completely different. The way we played helped him a lot with incredible runners, the young lads, the full-backs.

"I would say we played really good all game. We were 2-0 down, and we created a lot, and I said at half time we were playing good.

"Our momentum was sparked with a free-kick from Kevin, and after that, we played a really good game considering we were 2-0 down and considering how Crystal Palace have been in the past games."

One concern for City was Ederson going off midway through the second half due to injury, with the Brazilian having earlier provided his fourth Premier League assist of the season when he set up McAtee.

And Guardiola was not sure of the extent of the injury.

"I don't know," he said of Ederson. "He made the pass and said he felt something and couldn't continue."

Palace were unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions prior to their trip to the Etihad Stadium and had not lost on the road since October 21 against Nottingham Forest.

They could have had a bigger lead in the first half, but Eze saw a second strike disallowed for offside before City started their comeback.

Palace lost a Premier League game in which they led by two or more goals for the first time since August 2022 (also away at City), and Oliver Glasner was disappointed with the manner in which they conceded.

"The defeat really hurts because when you're up by two and scoring the third, we had a fantastic start," he told BBC Sport. "But we conceded the goals too easily.

"We didn't defend at our top level, so we can do this better. A team like Man City will punish it. We were not on our top level today defending, and that's why we conceded too many goals."

"We have to accept City are a top team. When you are not at your top level, they can always find the gaps, and they are able to score a goal. Especially after their first, they got quicker, and after the second, they had their rebound. I think after the first goal, it was tough.

"The players did their best, but we will learn from this game. When you play a team like City, you have to be at your top level in defence."