Kevin De Bruyne played his final home game as Manchester City eased to a 3-1 win over Bournemouth to close in on a top-five finish.

Pep Guardiola said pre-match that distractions would only be harmful to his side’s chances of securing Champions League football – neither De Bruyne’s Etihad farewell nor Rodri’s first appearance in a matchday squad since September should disturb the task at hand.

FA Cup final disappointment – just three short days ago – was swiftly displaced by the top-five mission, as Omar Marmoush rifled a spectacular opener in the 14th minute and Bernardo Silva added a well-taken second – but not before a glaring De Bruyne miss, which he later dubbed “terrible”.

With a glittering career in sky blue drawing to an imminent close, the Belgian dominated most of the preamble, and drew audible gasps when hammering Marmoush’s pullback surprisingly onto the crossbar from close range.

Bournemouth barely participated in the first half but came into the game briefly after the break, Antoine Semenyo and Milos Kerkez the most threatening of the bunch – doing their chances of a big summer move, with links to Man Utd and Liverpool respectively, no harm at all.

The visitors, fairly flat all evening, were then buoyed by the sending off of Mateo Kovacic midway through the second period for hauling back Evanilson, only for Lewis Cook to see red for a reckless challenge on Nico Gonzalez six minutes later. Gonzalez dealt due punishment by thundering a third one minute before the end.

Guardiola’s side, who also welcomed back Rodri from an eight-month injury absence, capped a close-to-perfect night by moving third – despite having their clean sheet snatched away by Daniel Jebbison in stoppage time – two points ahead of rivals Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa with one game to go, while the Cherries’ bid for eighth is over.

Guardiola sets target for PL finale

Man City boss Pep Guardiola:

“It’s a pity that against Southampton we couldn’t collect the points. Now it would be already done.

“On Sunday we have a tough opponent [Fulham]. We go there to win to take the point we need to be next season in the Champions League.

“The most important thing was to win the game and we did it against an incredible opponent. They destroyed us in the Premier League in the first leg. The games are always good, we had chances, they had chances, it was open and the people enjoy.”

Fitting send-off for ‘King Kev’

The City boss was in tears as tributes were paid to De Bruyne on the big screen after the final whistle.

Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho, Leroy Sane, Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, Riyad Mahrez and Vincent Kompany were among the club greats and former players to feature in the montage.

Speaking on the pitch alongside his wife and children, De Bruyne told fans: “Manchester is home, Manchester is where these little kids are born.

“I came here with my wife to stay for a long time, I didn’t expect to be here 10 years.

“We’ve won everything, we made the club bigger, and now they [team-mates] are going to take over. This team will have more success, that’s for sure.

“I know it’s been a bit of a tough year for us but I think this team deserves all the support from you guys. I know they are pushing really hard and this team will be back next year fighting for all the titles.”

Peerless De Bruyne embodies City success

Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:

As a tearful Kevin De Bruyne bade farewell to Man City fans, hoping they would remember him “with joy”, the master midfielder can also sign off comforted by the fact he’s leaving his side in decent shape. This result puts City on the brink of Champions League qualification, needing only a point on the final day against Fulham to be sure. The succession line of talent isn’t bad either.

Of course City’s trophyless campaign won’t be remembered fondly. Against the backdrop of such a stupendous four-year run as undisputed champions, how could it? But the end to such a dominant dynasty will no doubt mark the start of another.

De Bruyne has been the embodiment of City’s supremacy – a player better than all his peers, playing for the best team in modern Premier League history. Hopefully, wherever his next move takes him, he’ll always be thought of that way.

De Bruyne: An unbelievable ride

Man City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne:

“It’s been unbelievable to have the 10 years that I’ve had over here. It’s been an unbelievable ride, an absolute pleasure.

“I wanted to bring joy to people, play offensive football, creative, that is why I am on the pitch and I want to have fun. I think we had a lot of fun over the 10 years.

“It was a joy working really hard and creating something which brought the club much better than it was before. I’m super proud.”

Story of the match in stats…

What’s coming up in the Premier League?

Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season

From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.