Crystal Palace2 - 4Man City

After watching on as an unused substitute in City's midweek victory over Aston Villa, De Bruyne returned to Pep Guardiola's starting lineup as captain against the Eagles, and he certainly made his present felt at Selhurst Park.

Jean-Philippe Mateta gave Palace a shock lead after just three minutes when he raced through on goal and smacked a shot in off the post, but their lead was short-lived as De Bruyne restored parity for Man City just 10 minutes later with a sensational curling shot whipped into the top corner.

Rico Lewis then put City ahead just two minutes after the interval, before De Bruyne contributed to the visitors' next two goals within the space of four minutes, firstly setting up Erling Haaland for a close-range finish before arrowing a first-time left-footed shot in at the near post to notch up a century of goals for the Citizens across all competitions.

Odsonne Edouard pulled one back for Palace in the closing stages, but Man City held on to claim three important points and boost their hopes of winning an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title.

De Bruyne, known primarily for his elite playmaker abilities, has become the 18th Man City player to score 100 goals for the club, while he has also registered an impressive 166 assists in his 372 appearances for the reigning Premier League champions.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at De Bruyne's century of strikes for Man City across his legendary nine-year career at the Etihad Stadium.

2015-16 - 16 goals in 41 appearances

Eyebrows were raised by some football supporters and pundits when Man City forked out a reported £54m to sign De Bruyne from Wolfsburg in the summer of 2015, but it is fair to say that the Belgian has proven many doubters wrong and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders to have graced the Premier League.

After scoring 16 goals in 51 games for Wolfsburg to win the 2014-15 Bundesliga Player of the Year award, De Bruyne made an immediate impact in his debut campaign at Man City, netting 16 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions.

The midfielder, who quickly establishing himself as a first-team regular under former boss Manuel Pellegrini, scored seven times in the Premier League, including three in his first four matches - netting his first goal for the club in a 2-1 home defeat to West Ham United - while he also found the net five times in as many outings in City's triumphant EFL Cup campaign.

De Bruyne's most memorable goal of the 2015-16 season came in the Champions League quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain when he whipped a 20-yard strike into the bottom corner to seal a 1-0 second-leg win and a 3-2 aggregate victory for the Citizens, helping the club advance to the semi-finals for the first time in their history.

Total goals: 16

Premier League: 7 goals in 25 games

FA Cup: 1 goal in 1 games

EFL Cup: 5 goals in 5 games

Champions League: 3 goals in 10 games

2016-17 - Seven goals in 49 appearances

The 2016-17 campaign saw De Bruyne operate in a deeper midfield role following the arrival of Pep Guardiola as manager, leading to only seven goals in 49 appearances from the Belgian across all tournaments in a season that ended trophyless for City, finishing third in the Premier League.

While the Citizens heavily relied on star striker Sergio Aguero to score the goals - 33 in total - De Bruyne became one of the club's chief creators as he provided 20 assists, at least five more than any of his teammates, including a Premier League-high 18 assists in 36 games.

De Bruyne scored six times in the top flight, including his first Manchester derby goal in a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, while his only other goal came in the Champions League group stage when City came from behind to beat Barcelona 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Total goals: 7

Premier League: 6 goals in 36 games

FA Cup: goals in 5 games

EFL Cup: goals in 1 game

Champions League: 1 goals in 6 games

2017-18 - 12 goals in 52 appearances

De Bruyne was an integral cog in Guardiola's machine as the pair celebrated their first Premier League title together in record-breaking fashion; Man City became the first and only club to date to collect 100 points in a single top-flight season, scoring a record 106 goals in the process.

As well as registering a Premier League-high 16 assists, De Bruyne scored eight goals, including his first of the season against former club Chelsea in a narrow 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, before finding the net in home victories over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

De Bruyne scored one and provided four assists across eight Champions League outings, while he netted a crucial goal in both legs of City's 5-3 aggregate win over Bristol City in the EFL Cup semi-finals, before the Citizens beat Arsenal 3-0 in the final to seal a domestic double.

Total goals: 12

Premier League: 8 goals in 37 games

FA Cup: 1 goal in 3 games

EFL Cup: 2 goals in 4 games

Champions League: 1 goals in 8 games

2018-19- Six goals in 32 appearances

A knee ligament injury limited De Bruyne's influence in Man City's 'Fourmidables' 2018-29 season when they became the first men's team to win all four domestic trophies in England in the same campaign.

The midfielder still managed to contribute with 11 assists in 32 appearances, but he only found the net six times - the lowest haul of his Etihad career thus far - scoring two goals in each of the Premier League, EFL Cup and FA Cup.

De Bruyne ended the season in style as he scored and provided an assist in a 35-minute cameo appearance off the substitutes' bench in City's 6-0 FA Cup final triumph over Watford.

Total goals: 6

Premier League: 2 goals in 19 games

FA Cup: 2 goals in 4 games

EFL Cup: 2 goals in 5 games

Champions League: goals in 4 games

2019-20 - 16 goals in 48 appearances

De Bruyne returned to full fitness and enjoyed arguably his best season in a Man City shirt in 2019-20, winning the Premier League and PFA Player of the Year awards for the first time in his career, even though the Citizens lost out to Liverpool in the Premier League title race.

City's No.17 contributed to 39 goals in all tournaments, scoring 13 goals and registering a joint-record 20 assists in 35 Premier League games, matching Thierry Henry's assist feat in 2002-03.

The Belgian netted three of his 13 top-flight goals across two encounters with Arsenal, while he also scored in both home and away meetings with former club Chelsea and made the net ripple in a thumping 4-0 home victory over Liverpool.

However, De Bruyne's standout goal of 2019-20 took place at St James' Park where he chested a high ball before unleashing an unstoppable 20-yard volley in off the underside of the crossbar in a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United - the midfielder's strike was voted the Premier League Goal of the Month for November and Man City's Goal of the Season.

De Bruyne also scored away against the Magpies in a 2-0 EFL Cup quarter-final win, but he was unable to get on the scoresheet in three EFL Cup appearances, including a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in the final.

In the Champions League, the Citizens star celebrated his 50th goal for the club when he placed a penalty past Belgian compatriot Thibaut Courtois in a 2-1 first-leg win at Real Madrid in the last 16, before netting a precise side-footed strike in a 3-1 quarter-final defeat to Lyon.

Total goals: 16

Premier League: 13 goals in 35 games

FA Cup: 1 goal in 2 games

EFL Cup: goals in 3 games

Champions League: 2 goals in 7 games

Community Shield: goals in 1 game

2020-21 - 10 goals in 40 appearances

Goals were shared around the Man City side in 2020-21 and De Bruyne was one of seven players to reach double figures across all competitions - Ilkay Gundogan topped the Citizens scoring charts with 17, while Aguero netted only six times in his final year at the club.

De Bruyne scored six of his 10 goals in the Premier League and also notched up 12 assists as Man City reclaimed the title from Liverpool, finishing 12 points clear of their nearest challengers and bitter rivals Man United.

The Belgian was a standout performer in the Citizens' march to the 2021 Champions League final, scoring three goals in the knockout rounds against Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and PSG, but he was forced off injured with a fractured nose and eye socket in the showpiece event when City lost 1-0 to Chelsea.

De Bruyne was unable to get his name on the scoresheet in four games during City's triumphant EFL Cup campaign, but he did score in the 90th minute of a last-gasp 2-0 FA Cup quarter-final win at Everton, six minutes after Gundogan opened the scoring.

Total goals: 10

Premier League: 6 goals in 25 games

FA Cup: 1 goal in 3 games

EFL Cup: goals in 4 games

Champions League: 3 goals in 8 games

2021-22 - 19 goals in 45 appearances

The 2021-22 campaign is the only season to date in which De Bruyne's goal tally has exceeded his assists in a Man City shirt, recording 19 goals and 15 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions.

De Bruyne was City's top scorer in the Premier League, netting 15 goals to fire Guardiola's men to their fourth title in five seasons, despite being pushed to the final day in an enthralling battle with Liverpool, who finished just one point behind in second place.

As well as scoring one goal in both meetings with Liverpool that ended 2-2, De Bruyne was at the double in a 4-1 home thrashing of Man United, a couple of months after bending a delightful long-range strike into the bottom corner to seal a 1-0 win over Chelsea.

However, De Bruyne's most memorable outing of the 2021-22 season came at Molineux when he scored four goals - including three with his weaker left-footed - while operating as a false nine in a thumping 5-1 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers in April, becoming just the third midfielder after Frank Lampard and Georginio Wijnaldum to net four in a single Premier League game.