After recent substitute appearances against Sporting CP, Brighton, Tottenham, Feyenoord and Liverpool, Pep Guardiola picked the Belgian to start at the Etihad Stadium and the captain made an instant impact.
A dinked cross found the onrushing midfielder unmarked at the back post to head back into the danger area, where Bernardo Silva reacted well to divert into the net after just eight minutes.
The visitors threatened a swift leveller and a stray pass put Chris Wood through on goal, but the in-form striker stroked the ball wide of the left post, with only Stefan Ortega Moreno to beat.
With the clock ticking just past the half-hour mark, Jeremy Doku found De Bruyne inside the box, before the skipper unleashed a powerful drive into the top left corner to double our lead.
After the interval, Doku turned from provider to scorer, collecting Erling Haaland‘s pass just inside the Forest half, before driving at the defence, cutting inside, and curling into the bottom corner expertly.
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The attacking momentum continued and we almost had a fourth with the influential De Bruyne‘s effort destined for the bottom corner, only for international compatriot Matz Sels to palm the ball around the post impressively.
Guardiola‘s men worked hard to preserve the clean sheet and saw out the victory professionally, to claim our first victory at the eighth time of asking across all competitions.
View the best images from the victory via our gallery below.
