Manchester City kept up the pressure on their title rivals and Kevin de Bruyne hit his 100th goal for the club in their 4-2 victory at Crystal Palace.

There had been doubts about whether or not the Belgian or Erling Haaland would be in the starting line-up for the lunchtime kick-off at Selhurst Park, where the in-form Jean-Philippe Mateta fired the hosts in front three minutes after kick-off.

De Bruyne drew the sides level moments later, and City took the lead for the first time less than two minutes after the restart via Rico Lewis’ second Premier League goal before De Bruyne set up Haaland for City’s third.

De Bruyne then added another with a solo effort to make it a century of goals for City in the 70th minute.

Palace substitute Odsonne Edouard clawed one back late on, and while Pep Guardiola’s men looked to pad what could be vital scoring statistics at the end of the season, they could not find a fifth in seven minutes of second-half stoppage time.

With safety all but secured, perhaps the more interesting proposition for Palace is now how they might affect the title chase.

Arsenal and City will be keeping their eye on the south Londoners, who travel to Liverpool next weekend.

Mateta gave the home support – as well as the Gunners and Liverpool – something to smile about with a low strike that clipped the inside of the far post before crossing over for the opener.

January signing Adam Wharton, who earned the assist, next tried setting up Eberechi Eze but overpowered the pass before City broke back and tested Dean Henderson with efforts from Julian Alvarez and Rodri, the latter calling the Palace shot-stopper into a particularly fine punch.

There was little Henderson could do to stop De Bruyne, who curled into the top right corner for a brilliant finish to draw the sides level in the 13th minute.

Palace replied with determination, enjoying another spell inside City’s final third, and the frenetic pace finally ebbed as the visitors took control and piled on the pressure.

Haaland, through on goal, forced Henderson into a save and Alvarez sent an effort wide, though it was Jordan Ayew who came closest to altering the scoreline before the break after he picked the pocket of Rodri, holding his head in his hands after watching his powerful effort clip the crossbar.

The Eagles wanted a penalty when Josko Gvardiol barged into Eze on the stroke of half-time, and while referee Paul Tierney brushed off their protests, the home support had plenty to cheer about their side’s performance in the first period.

Lewis took the wind out of their sails less than two minutes after the restart, bringing down Jack Grealish’s cross, his shot from near the penalty spot taking a slight deflection off Jefferson Lerma before going in.

More chances came City’s way, first through Alvarez then Grealish from a corner and De Bruyne before the hour mark before De Bruyne and Haaland combined for the visitors’ third.

It took just four minutes more for De Bruyne to bag his brace, drilling past Henderson to pad City’s lead in the 70th minute, after which Palace boss Oliver Glasner introduced a host of substitutes including Michael Olise, who had not played since Palace’s 4-1 loss to Brighton on February 3.

He set up fellow substitute Edouard for a golden chance, and after squandering the initial opportunity he made up for the miss when he poked past Ortega in the 86th minute.

Grealish wanted more with a late chance in second-half stoppage time but sent his effort over. 

Marcelino Nunez free-kick earns Norwich derby win to dent Ipswich promotion bid

Ipswich suffered a serious blow to their hopes of automatic promotion from the Championship when they slid to a 1-0 defeat at local rivals Norwich.

A tense game of few clear-cut chances was settled by 39th free-kick from Marcelino Nunez, who fired home low and hard from over 30 yards.

The win left a below-par Ipswich side hoping for slip-ups from rivals Leicester and Leeds later in the day, while for Norwich it further cemented their place in the top six.

It also maintained their overwhelming supremacy in this fixture in recent times, with Ipswich having failed to clinch an East Anglian derby win since a 3-2 victory at Portman Road way back in 2009.

After a predictably tight start the home side began to take the initiative, winning a series of free-kicks deep in Ipswich territory.

And they made the fourth of them count, with Nunez edging his side in front six minutes before the break after Sam Morsy had shoved Josh Sargent to the ground some 30 yards out in a central position.

A goal looked a long shot, quite literally, but the Chilean comfortably beat Town’s two-man wall with a low curler which eluded Vaclav Hladky’s desperate dive to the left and went in off the post.

Ten minutes earlier Sargent had been brought down by Axel Tuanzebe in a seemingly more dangerous position, after being put in by a delightful Ashley Barnes through ball, but on this occasion Gabriel Sara’s free-kick came to nothing.

Overall the Canaries had the better of a tight opening period, with Ipswich looking nothing like a side challenging for automatc promotion. Their only effort on or off target was Massimo Luongo’s header from a corner which sailed harmlessly over.

Sam McCallum’s long ball from the back almost caught the visitors out in the early stages of the second half, with Borja Sainz’s lob only narrowly off target.

Sargent then went down on the edge of the box under a last-ditch challenge from Morsy, only for referee Matthew Donohue to infuriate the home fans by waving play on.

As the game entered its final quarter Sargent burst through again and cut the ball back for Sainz, only for the Spaniard to guide a first time effort high and wide.

Ipswich were struggling to make any impact in the final third, although Conor Chaplin finally produced an effort worthy of the name on 70 minutes, firing just over after being picked out by Leif Davis’ cross.

Substitute Ali Al-Hamadi was then thwarted by Angus Gunn’s quick reaction as he chased a long ball but Norwich defended well to see out a well deserved derby win.

Juventus boss determined to qualify for Champions League ‘one way or another’

Massimiliano Allegri says playing in next season’s Champions League is essential for his Juventus youngsters to develop.

Juve ended a four-game winless run on Tuesday by beating Lazio 2-0 in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.

A dip in league form – Juventus have not won in Serie A since edging out Frosinone 3-2 at home on February 25 – has left Allegri’s third-placed side with a seven-point advantage over Roma in fifth.

“In the Champions League you have to get there, one way or another,” manager Allegri said ahead of Sunday’s visit from mid-table Fiorentina.

“We have good players who get better the more they play.

“And next year with the Champions League there would be at least eight international level matches which can help the kids grow even more.

“There are players who need time, to put in matches with Juventus and international matches.”

Allegri insisted his squad have continued to grow, despite a sticky patch which saw league defeats at Lazio and Napoli and home draws with Atalanta and Genoa.

He said: “Boys grow by playing. Regardless of this last period where we dropped points along the way, it doesn’t mean that the boys haven’t grown.

“The team has always trained well, but as often happens, victories help and give confidence.

“Now we have eight league games left, we need to earn the points needed to achieve the Champions League objective.

“The positive result makes you see everything differently. It (Fiorentina) will be a good test of character.”

Fiorentina also won the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final in midweek by beating Atalanta 1-0 at home.

Allegri said: “They played a good game against Atalanta, so we know the difficulties of this match.

“But we have another opportunity to consolidate our position and my only thought is to achieve the objectives together with the team and finish the season in the best way possible.

“We have to fight, we have to struggle. We must have the conviction and the clear idea that we have eight games in the league to achieve this.

“We know that from here to the end of the campaign there will be difficulties, but one way or another we have to get there.”

Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik remains sidelined with a muscle injury that is expected to keep him out for another two to three weeks.

Fiorentina have won only once in six league outings, with no Serie A success on the road since a 1-0 victory at Monza three days before Christmas.