De Bruyne sparks Man City comeback win as Arsenal and Forest stumble in Premier League

Kevin De Bruyne wants to deliver Champions League qualification to Manchester City as a parting gift to his club of the last 10 years.

The Belgium playmaker certainly looked like a man on a mission in sparking City's remarkable fightback against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

After City fell two goals behind inside 21 minutes, the 33-year-old De Bruyne curled a free kick in off the post to begin the comeback and had a hand in goals by Omar Marmoush and Mateo Kovacic in the first half. James McAtee added a fourth — off a pass from goalkeeper Ederson, who later came off injured — before fellow academy product Nico O'Reilly wrapped up the win.

It was a display showing the enduring quality of De Bruyne, who announced last week he would be leaving City at the end of the season, and he was given a standing ovation after being substituted in the 87th minute.

“I want to go away with a Champions League (place) for this team because they deserve it," he said. “We’ve been in the Champions League for the nine, 10 years that I’ve been here so I hope we can do that for the team next year."

The victory lifted City — the winner of the last four Premier League titles but a shadow of its former self this season — into fourth place above Chelsea and Newcastle, who have games in hand in the race to secure England's five Champions League spots. That's where all the drama lies for the remainder of this campaign.

City moved two points behind third-place Nottingham Forest, which conceded in stoppage time to lose 1-0 at home to Everton. Aston Villa won 3-0 at already-relegated Southampton to climb to fifth and stay a point behind City. Chelsea and Newcastle are a point further back.

Any realistic chances Arsenal had of winning the title disappeared weeks ago and the second-placed Gunners were held 1-1 by Brentford, leaving them 10 points behind Liverpool.

Beat West Ham on Sunday and Liverpool would need just two more wins to guarantee a record-tying 20th English top-flight championship.

De Bruyne back in good shape

Injuries have affected De Bruyne's impact in recent seasons but his class can still shine through, with his goal a turning point against Palace and his assist for Kovacic being the 119th of his Premier League career.

“I'd say basically I've been pain-free for the last six weeks and that’s a massive difference,” De Bruyne said. “It was hard but now I feel free, and able to do a lot of training sessions. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I want to play on. We'll see where I can end up.”

His goal from a direct free kick shocked City into action after early goals by Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards for Palace.

“The performance of Kevin, as he has done for many, many years in many, many games — he played fantastic," City manager Pep Guardiola said.

Forest wobbling

Forest's bid for Champions League qualification has been one of the stories of the season but the team is starting to wobble in the run-in.

Abdoulaye Doucoure finished a counterattack in the fourth minute of stoppage time for Everton's winner as Forest lost a second straight game, after being beaten at Villa last weekend.

There's only four points between Forest and seventh-place Newcastle, which hosts Manchester United on Sunday with manager Eddie Howe in hospital.

Subs turn game for Villa

Villa was laboring against last-place Southampton until manager Unai Emery brought on Ollie Watkins and Donyell Malen in the 66th minute.

Seven minutes later, Watkins got on the end of a lofted pass from Youri Tielemans and directed a volley in off the crossbar. Malen added a second goal in the 79th and John McGinn — another substitute — scored a third off a rebound from Marco Asensio's second saved penalty of the match.

It was a fourth straight win in the league for Villa, which is seeking to qualify for the Champions League in back-to-back seasons. Villa has reached the quarterfinals this season and is 3-1 down to Paris Saint-Germain after the first leg.

More magic from Declan Rice

With his two stunning goals from free kicks, Declan Rice was the star for Arsenal in its 3-0 first-leg win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Rice turned provider against Brentford, surging 60 meters upfield before setting up Thomas Partey for the 61st-minute opener. Yoane Wissa equalized in the 74th.

Key for Arsenal was protecting players ahead of the second leg against Madrid and manager Mikel Arteta was happy to give reduced minutes to stars like Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, who started on the bench.