Kevin De Bruyne scored one goal and set up two others as Manchester City moved up to third place in the Premier League table after claiming a comfortable victory over Crystal Palace.
City had the perfect start when the returning David Silva swept the ball home after only 114 seconds from a poor headed clearance from Martin Kelly.
Palace did create a couple of openings, Patrick van Aanholt slicing wide, but City doubled their lead four minutes into the second half when Vincent Kompany fired into the top corner from De Bruyne’s cutback.
De Bruyne added a third with a shot into the bottom corner, Sterling scored a fourth when Pablo Zabaleta’s nodded back across goal while De Bruyne’s free-kick set up Nicolas Otamendi’s header in stoppage time.
City are now level on points with Liverpool, who play on Sunday, but are ahead on goal difference while Palace are six points off the drop zone, with the teams immediately below them having three matches left to play.
