Man City 3-0 Brighton: City go back top with six games to play

Last updated on 20 April 202220 April 2022.From the section Premier League

De Bruyne did not get his name on the scoresheet but the standing ovation he received as he was replaced by Gabriel Jesus shortly after Bernardo's goal said everything about the Belgian's contribution.

With frustration mounting in the stands, De Bruyne took direct action eight minutes after the restart.

He set off on a surging run from inside his own half and the determination to make an impact meant he kept going when twice he could easily have stopped to claim free-kicks.

Instead, he kept his feet and shrugged off a third challenge before running the ball on to Mahrez. The Algerian profited from a couple of fortunate deflections, first to give him the shooting opportunity before a second took it past Robert Sanchez.

This was the Algerian's 250th Premier League appearance and he helped boss Guardiola to his 250th win as City's boss - achieved 52 games quicker than any other manager in English top-flight history.

After Foden doubled the hosts' lead, De Bruyne was the key man again as Bernardo added a third, deftly flicking on Oleksandr Zinchenko's pass after the Ukrainian - earlier given a warm reception on only his second home appearance since the Russian invasion of his homeland - had taken advantage of Brighton hesitancy inside their own half.

After his injury scare during the Champions League quarter-final second leg with Atletico Madrid, Guardiola will want to keep De Bruyne as safe as possible for the remainder of the campaign.

The same, presumably, is also true of central defender Ruben Dias, who was introduced at half-time after a seven-week absence with a hamstring injury and seemed to shrug off fears from the bench he had suffered a recurrence.