City had lost its last four Premier League games and was without a win in seven in all competitions. But it cruised to a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku.

Guardiola's side is unbeaten in its last 31 Premier League matches with the Belgian in the starting side (W26 D5), while he has been directly involved in 25 goals across those matches (nine goals, 16 assists).

Having picked up two goal involvements against Forest, the City manager was pleased with the influence De Bruyne had during his 73 minutes on the pitch.

"He was excellent, especially in the first half, even in the second half," Guardiola said. "Really good, the presence and when he's fit, he's a player that is so important for us. For many years since he arrived from Germany, he has been an incredible influence on our game.

"[The difference is] we won, [before] we make a performance but could not win but [on Wednesday] we won. Now everything is nice."

The Belgian, making his 265th league appearance for City, recorded more than four shots (five) and more than four chances (four) for the third time in a Premier League game this season, despite only making five starts – only Bukayo Saka has done so more often in 24/25.

It was De Bruyne's first league start in nearly three months, and he was keen to discuss City's improvement, instead of focusing on the table after Liverpool dropped points in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Newcastle United.

"It's not the moment to look at that," he said. "It's been a hard period, we have to accept the challenge. The Premier League is getting harder and harder.

"We know that everyone is becoming a tough team to play and everybody is taking points off everybody.

"We have to improve as a team first and we'll see in a couple of months where we are. Hopefully, we would have improved a bit and are a lot closer."

Nuno Espirito Santo, meanwhile, was left disappointed at Forest's profligacy as it fell to a third defeat in four games.

Chris Wood, Anthony Elanga and Murillo all missed good chances, while Morgan Gibbs-White forced an impressive save from Stefan Ortega with the score at 1-0.

Speaking on Wood's one-on-one miss, Nuno said: "It was [a pivotal moment]. That minute was very pivotal because Chris had a good chance.

"He's a good striker, but it was inches from the post. That can change the momentum of the game. But the other way around, they had a chance, and they took it.

"It was a big punch in our stomachs and a big mountain to climb, but in the second half we tried. We had chances, but it wasn't meant to be. We look to the next one."