Here's what City will miss ... a De Bruyne masterclass!

AFTER Chris Richards had headed in a second Crystal Palace goal from a few inches out, Pep Guardiola called James McAtee over to receive some instructions.

- ANDY DUNN

McAtee looked at his manager, nonplussed, as if to wonder what he was supposed to do about defending with an expression that was as abject as you are likely to see in elite-level football.

In truth, Guardiola had probably just picked on McAtee because he was the closest player to him. He probably did it out of instinct, he was probably barking at McAtee for the sake of it.

Because Guardiola himself looked nonplussed.

Every Palace counter-attack looked like ending with a goal and only the narrowest of semi-automated offside decisions against Eberechi Eze ruled out a third for Palace inside the opening 30 minutes.

Pep looked powerless.

Fortunately, for him, Kevin De Bruyne did not.

And, in one of his farewell gigs, the Belgian delivered a masterclass to haul City back from the brink of another calamity.

As the old line goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.

And few have Kevin's class.

The free-kick that gave City a route back into a brilliantly entertaining contest was ingenious in its conception and clinical in its execution.