Crystal Palace 2-4 Man City: Player ratings as magical De Bruyne inspires champions to victory

Manchester City put pressure on their Premier League title rivals on Saturday lunchtime by beating Crystal Palace 4-2 in the capital.

Both sides showed their teeth in an entertaining first half at Selhurst Park, with Kevin De Bruyne's wonder strike cancelling out Jean-Philippe Mateta's impressive opener.

However, second-half goals from Rico Lewis, Erling Haaland and De Bruyne helped Man City eventually ease to victory, moving them level on points with table-toppers Liverpool before their trip to Old Trafford on Sunday.

Man City knew that there was huge pressure on them to kick the weekend off with a win in the Premier League title race, but they made a nightmare start at Selhurst Park after falling behind early on.

It was a swift breakaway from Crystal Palace that carved them open, with Mateta latching on to a through ball and rifling his strike in off the post to stun the reigning champions after just three minutes.

The visitors responded well to going behind and Rodri came close to producing a quickfire equaliser, but Dean Henderson tipped his bouncing effort just wide of the post.

However, Man City did grab a leveller just ten minutes after Palace's opener, De Bruyne sending an absolutely stunning effort into the top corner from just inside the area.

Pep Guardiola's side should have taken the lead before the 20-minute mark as Haaland was denied by Henderson following De Bruyne's defence-splitting pass, with Jordan Ayew spurning an opening at the other end by volleying over the bar.

Ayew almost capitalised on a rare Rodri error to restore the Eagles' advantage before the break, but the Palace forward's powerful shot clipped the top of the crossbar and went behind for a goal kick.

Despite a shaky first-half display, Man