MANCHESTER City captain Kevin de Bruyne is back to his familiar best, manager Pep Guardiola said after the midfielder scored and helped create two other goals in the 5-2 comeback victory over visitors Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

Guardiola said the Belgium playnaker, who scored his first league goal since December, had great performances in many matches before a hamstring injury forced him to undergo surgery in August 2023 and sit on the sidelines until January 2024.

"Unfortunately he lately could not (do it) ... for the problem that he has with injury, for one long year, surgery and so on. But he played fantastic, he helped us break this momentum that was not good," Guardiola told reporters.

The Spaniard also praised his players for sticking to the game plan despite going 2-0 down in the first 21 minutes before and staging a comeback under difficult circumstances.

"We need points to qualify for the Champions League so that was massively important," he said.

City are provisionally fourth in the table, two points ahead of Chelsea and Newcastle United who have played fewer games, as they look to finish in the top five to secure a place in next season's Champions League.

The defending league champions are also in the FA Cup semi-finals, where they face Nottingham Forest later this month at Wembley, and will play in the Club World Cup starting in June.

"If the level had been similar to today's we'd have been up there fighting with the top teams. But the team has not played well, and without this energy that was characteristic of this generation of players," Guardiola added.

"But some seasons, it happens. You learn, try to (limit) the damage as soon as possible, go into Europe next season, fight for the FA Cup and prepare for the (Club) World Cup.