Manchester City gave Kevin De Bruyne a fond farewell in a vital 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday to boost their chances of Champions League football next season.
Goals from Omar Marmoush, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez lifted City up into third in the Premier League heading into Sunday's final round of matches.
Mateo Kovacic's red card 20 minutes from time could have given Bournemouth hope, but Lewis Cook was also sent off just minutes later for a lunge on Gonzalez.
There was further cause for celebration for City late on when Ballon d'Or winner Rodri made his first appearance since September as a substitute after suffering a serious knee injury.
City's victory means a point when they travel to Fulham on the final day will be enough to secure a top-five finish thanks to their much superior goal difference to that of sixth-placed Aston Villa.
Just three days on from the disappointment of losing the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace, City had to raise themselves on an emotional night at the Etihad in De Bruyne's final home match.
Earlier in the day they had unveiled a mosaic and named a road at the club's training ground after the Belgian.
De Bruyne, who won six Premier League titles and the Champions League during his decade in Manchester, was greeted by a huge banner reading “King Kev” as he led the teams out.
He scored 108 goals and provided 177 assists in over 400 appearances to leave his mark as one of the Premier League's greatest ever players.
“It's been an unbelievable ride, an absolute pleasure,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports.
“I want to bring joy to people, play offensive football, be creative, that is what I am on the pitch and I want to have fun. I think we had a lot of fun over the 10 years.
“You win, you lose sometimes. It was a joy working really hard and creating something for this club which brought the club much better than it was before. I'm super proud.”
Yet, De Bruyne's final night at the Etihad did not have the fitting end of a goal after he wasted a glorious chance.
With the goal gaping from Omar Marmoush's pass, the 33-year-old hit the crossbar and gave himself “no excuses” for the slightest bobble before he struck the ball.
“It's terrible. There's no excuses!” He added. “My son is going to be very tough on me today.”
Marmoush makes amends
Marmoush made amends for his Wembley woe – the Egyptian missed a crucial penalty in defeat to Palace last weekend – in stunning fashion when he crashed home a long-range effort off the inside of the post on 14 minutes.
The goal of the season contender settled any nerves inside the Etihad and laid the platform for an important win.
Marmoush’s strike was a thing of beauty. The Egyptian was allowed too much space in the middle of the pitch and took full advantage with a 25-yarder that flew into the top corner beyond the despairing reach of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The moment an expectant crowd had been waiting for looked set to appear moments later when Marmoush squared to give his captain an open goal.
Yet, De Bruyne could only spoon the ball on to the crossbar from point-blank range much to his own disgust.
Guardiola's men did double their advantage before the break.
Ilkay Gundogan's clever reverse pass found Silva, who slammed home at the near post to spark jubilant celebrations from an animated Guardiola.
The City boss was furious when a slack pass from Josko Gvardiol played in Evanilson and he was brought down by Kovacic, denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The red card hastened De Bruyne's goodbye as he was replaced by Gonzalez to a standing ovation.
“We got to remember how nice have been these 10 years,” said Guardiola. “He got a lot of love from all the people who love this club.”
The numbers were evened up just six minutes later as Cook caught Gonzalez on the shin with his studs.
The cheer for Rodri's return came close to matching De Bruyne's departure. The loss of the Spanish midfielder has played a huge part in City's decline this season.
Gonzalez was bought in January to mitigate Rodri's absence but has struggled to hold down a place in Guardiola's side.
The Spaniard curled in his first Premier League goal with a fine finish on 89 minutes before Daniel Jebbison pulled a goal back deep into stoppage time.
Defeat ends Bournemouth's challenge to qualify for Europe for the first time as they remain down in 11th and now cannot catch eighth-placed Brighton.
Guardiola fires warning to City bosses
Meanwhile, Guardiola claimed he could quit as City boss if he is given too big a squad next season because he cannot bear to leave a large number of fit players out.
City will go into the summer looking to rebuild an ageing team, with several senior players candidates to follow De Bruyne out of the door.
After a season when injuries have hit City hard and the pressure of the fixture schedule only continues to grow, getting the right balance of numbers looks a difficult one but Guardiola – who has always preferred using a smaller group – said keeping things tight remained a priority for him.
“I said to the club I don’t want that (a bigger squad),” Guardiola said. “I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay.
“It’s impossible for my soul to (tell) my players in the tribune that they cannot play.
“Now it happened to add players immediately. Maybe for three or four months we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After, people come back but next season it cannot be like that.
“As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six, stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club I don’t want that.”
