Kevin De Bruyne waves Etihad goodbye with classy message on Man City farewell

Kevin De Bruyne was given an emotional Etihad send-off as moved to within touching distance of qualifying for the .

De Bruyne, 33, captained Pep Guardiola's men to a victory that lifted the Blues into third place - and a point at on Sunday will guarantee their place amongst Europe's elite. The Belgian international has been devastated by City's decision not to offer him a new contract after a trophy-laden decade in Manchester.

City's fans unveiled a giant banner before kick-off hailing De Bruyne as 'King Kev.' He was given a standing ovation that even included Bournemouth's travelling supporters when he was substituted in the 69th minute. De Bruyne said: “I want to bring joy to people, play offensive football, be creative and have fun.

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“I think we had a lot of fun in these 10 years, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I think we created something incredible to make this club better than where it was before.”

De Bruyne, who should have marked the occasion with a goal only to sweep a close-range shot against the crossbar, added: “It was terrible, terrible! There are no excuses. My son is going to be very hard on me today. I think life and a career is a journey, with ups and some downs, and you have to get through every moment and enjoy it.”

Man City (4-3-1-2): Ederson 6; Nunes 6, Akanji 7, Dias 6, Gvardiol 5; Silva 7, Kovacic 5, Gundogan 7; De Bruyne 7 (Nico, 69, 6); Haaland 6, Marmoush 7.

(4-2-3-1): Arrizabalaga 6; Araujo 5 (Smith 69, 5), Zabarnyi 6, Huijsen 6, Kerkez 6; Cook 5, Adams 5; Semenyo 5, Kluivert 5 (Brooks 46, 6); Tavernier 6; Evanilson 6.

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