'The Godfather!' - Kevin De Bruyne given lofty praise by Joe Cole after Crystal Palace masterclass as Man City's brilliant Belgian declared Premier League's greatest attacking midfielder

De Bruyne was the star of the show as City thrashed Crystal Palace 4-2 on Saturday. The Belgian scored a sumptuous curling effort to cancel out Jean-Philippe Mateta's early opening goal and then set up Erling Haaland before rounding off the scoring with a thumping drive. And he was given high praise by former Chelsea and West Ham midfielder Joe Cole.

"He's the Godfather of attacking midfielders," Cole said on TNT Sports. "He ranks above Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and everyone else. He's outstanding, he stands shoulder to shoulder against any midfielder to play in the Premier League he's such a talented boy."

De Bruyne has had a difficult campaign after tearing his hamstring on the opening day of the season against Burnley. He spent five months recovering and although he had excellent displays against Newcastle and Luton Town, he was criticised for a poor performance against title rivals Liverpool and was substituted early in the second half by Pep Guardiola at Anfield. Cole added: "At every stage of your career there's something to prove, whether you're young or old and trying to prove you can still do it, it's just the nature of the beast."

Guardiola blew kisses at De Bruyne after his equaliser against Palace. The coach and the midfielder have a funny relationship and are often seen arguing during matches or in training although Guardiola has said he enjoys seeing his player express his emotions.

Having won the early kick off to provisionally return to the top of the Premier League, City can now relax and wait and see whether title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal can pick up all three points in their games against Manchester United and Brighton respectively. Guardiola's side then head to Spain to face Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.