De Bruyne strike hands Man City win over Wolves in key game for Champions League qualifying

MANCHESTER, England :Captain Kevin De Bruyne scored in his penultimate game at Etihad Stadium as Manchester City beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 on Friday to climb to third in the Premier League and boost their chances of Champions League qualification.

Pep Guardiola's men, who are unbeaten in seven successive league games, provisionally climbed one spot with 64 points after 35 games, two points ahead of fourth-placed Newcastle and four points ahead of both Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, who all have a game in hand.

"We are better than weeks ago, winning games in a row," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "It's good to win when we play the way we played today, but we cannot relax — Southampton, Bournemouth, and Fulham (left to play)."

Wolves, who saw their remarkable run of six successive victories end, are 13th.

Wolves had the better chances in a nervy first half before City broke the deadlock in the 35th minute when Jeremy Doku worked the ball down the left before cutting it back sharply from the left-hand side to De Bruyne who side-footed it home past Jose Sa.

The stadium crowd rose to chant "Oh, Kevin De Bruyne!" in an emotional moment. The 33-year-old announced last month that he would leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, making Friday his second-last game at his home stadium in a sky-blue City shirt.

"I know I have one game left here but I just try to do my job like I've always done and I did that today, so I'm proud of what I'm doing and that's how it's supposed to be," the Belgian told Sky Sports.

De Bruyne, who has battled injuries the past two seasons, had expressed surprise that he had not been offered a contract extension by City, saying he still had plenty to give. Friday was another