Man City's GOAT: Kevin De Bruyne's top 10 moments as brilliant Belgian prepares for final Etihad appearance

In terms of importance, this goal ranks very low, given it came in an FA Cup fourth-round win at Cardiff City in the one season under Guardiola in which City failed to reach the semi-finals. But it did sum up De Bruyne's audacity and his belief in pulling off shots that most players would not even consider.

The Belgian stood over a free-kick, and as the Cardiff players in the wall leapt to try and block a rising shot, he rolled it under the jumping opponents and into the net. De Bruyne is not the only player to score this type of free-kick, but he was a trendsetter, with Lionel Messi among those following suit soon after. And opponents quickly caught on, with almost all teams now deploying a 'draft excluder' to lie down and prevent any naughty takers trying to sneak a shot under their carefully constructed wall.

It means goals like this are an increasingly rare breed, and De Bruyne is one of the few players to have pulled it off.

Palace may have beaten City in De Bruyne's last-ever cup final with City, but he has done more than enough damage to the Eagles over the years. Just take his virtuoso display at Selhurst Park towards the end of the 2023-24 season, when he scored twice and provided an assist in a stunning 4-1 comeback win which kept City on track for their record-breaking, fourth-successive Premier League title.

De Bruyne scored his 100th goal for the club to put City on level terms before then setting up Erling Haaland to score before rounding off the victory with another goal for himself. Guardiola was in awe of the centurion afterwards, saying: "For many years he has been one of the best players for our club. What he has done in England has been unbelievable. Many goals, assists and consistency. We had four or five months without him and now we need him at the end of the season."

City were in stunning form at the start of the 2017-18 season, as they beat both Liverpool and Crystal Palace 5-0 while pummelling Watford 6-0 ahead of a visit to defending champions and early title rivals Chelsea. Antonio Conte's side were no pushovers, but City eventually grabbed victory thanks to a beautiful goal from De Bruyne, who had endured a difficult and disappointing time at Stamford Bridge after struggling to earn game time under Jose Mourinho.

The Belgian made his former club regret letting him go by breaking the deadlock midway through the second half, as he played a one-two with Gabriel Jesus before firing the ball high into the net with his left foot. Guardiola was ecstatic on the touchline and the result tasted even sweeter than the previous thrashings, as it proved City could beat the best teams even when pushed to the limits.

In De Bruyne's first game at the Etihad since announcing he was leaving the club - or to put it more accurately, being told by Guardiola that he had to leave - he naturally pulled out a performance for the ages, sending a message that he still had plenty to offer City on the off chance they wanted to change their minds.

Visitors Crystal Palace went 2-0 up in the first half and had a third ruled out for offside before De Bruyne got to work. Once he did, though, he was unstoppable. He reduced the deficit with a free-kick goal and then helped set up Omar Marmoush's equaliser with a cushioned header. In the second half, he laid the ball off for Mateo Kovacic to put City in front, and they never looked back.

Guardiola was delighted but wasn't surprised: "The performance was what Kevin has done for many, many years and many, many games."

It was no secret that De Bruyne had a special understanding with Haaland, but the pair took their telepathic relationship to new levels at Kenilworth Road in 2024 when the Belgian set up four goals for his Norwegian partner in crime during a crazy FA Cup win over Luton Town. De Bruyne played in Haaland for all three of his first-half hat-trick, and while Luton came back from the dead to make it 3-2, so De Bruyne and Haaland did it again, combining for a fourth time to put the Hatters back at arm's length.

When Haaland scored his fifth of the night, it felt strange because for once De Bruyne had not set him up, with Bernardo Silva doing the honours instead. "Kevin De Bruyne is massive. He is doing what he is best at. It's a pleasure playing with him," said a grateful Haaland. "We know what we both want from each other. It clicks well. He is a smart player and I like to play with him."

The 2019-20 season was far from City's best, but De Bruyne produced one of his most outstanding individual displays in a one-sided win at Arsenal, doing all the damage in an emphatic first-half display. His first-time strike put City in command after just 89 seconds, and the playmaker then set up Raheem Sterling for City's second after leading a classy passive move which punished Arsenal's high press.

De Bruyne made it 3-0 in the 40th minute with a trademark low left-footed strike into the bottom corner, effectively ending the game as a contest less than halfway through.

Real Madrid had broken City's hearts at Santiago Bernabeu in the 2022 Champions League semi-finals, and there was a familiar feeling about their reunion 12 months later when Vinicius Jr's vicious strike gave the holders a first-half lead. Erling Haaland, meanwhile, was being shackled by Antonio Rudiger and City were running out of ideas. De Bruyne, however, produced the perfect response to Vinicius' strike, rattling an Ilkay Gundogan lay-off low, hard and well beyond the reach of Thibaut Courtois.

It earned City a 1-1 draw to take back with them to Manchester, where they out-played Madrid and won 4-0 to enact revenge on Los Blancos and booked their trip to the final in Istanbul.

Back in January 2024, De Bruyne had not played a Premier League match since tearing his hamstring at Burnley on the opening day of the season. As such, all eyes were on the Belgian when Guardiola introduced him from the bench in the second half at St James' Park.

City were trailing 2-1 to Newcastle and risked falling five points behind then-league leaders Liverpool if they couldn't turn the game around. But within five minutes of coming on, De Bruyne had drawn his side level as he cheekily rolled the ball into the far bottom corner of the net from outside the area. Then in injury time, he conjured the type of match-winning pass only he is capable of, curling through a crowd of bodies and into the feet of Oscar Bobb, who dribbled in the winner.

"I think it was more willpower than anything else," explained De Bruyne. The gap at the summit was cut dramatically down to two thanks to De Bruyne's two magical moments, and his intervention proved crucial to City pipping Arsenal to the title on the final day.

City had chased down pacesetters Arsenal in the 2022-23 title race, and the showdown between the teams at the Etihad Stadium in April 2023 was the Gunners' last chance to stay in control. De Bruyne, however, quickly killed their hopes off, spearheading a 4-1 win which put Guardiola's side two points behind Mikel Arteta's side with two games in hand.

De Bruyne set the tone for his latest Arsenal demolition job by racing forward from the halfway line and sweeping the ball inside Aaron Ramsdale's near post. He then curled in a beautiful free-kick which John Stones glanced into the net to double the lead after a lengthy VAR review.

In the second half, De Bruyne exchanged passes with Haaland (as he had done for his first goal) to make it 3-0, and there was no way back for Arsenal, neither on the night nor in the title race.

De Bruyne delivered his most decisive and greatest display in his decade-long spell with City at the business end of the club's second nail-biting title race with Liverpool in 2022. City visited Wolves in their third-from-last game of the season with Jurgen Klopp's side snapping at their heels, and De Bruyne delivered a tour-de-force to keep them on right path.

The Belgian calmed City nerves with a seventh-minute strike, but it was soon cancelled out by his compatriot Leander Dendoncker. City's Belgian would not be outdone, however, and he put City back in front with pure determination and then completed his hat-trick with an arrowed left-footed strike. Goal number four, this time with his right foot, came in the second half before Sterling rounded off the victory.