Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling scored twice against Crystal Palace to send Pep Guardiola's side to the top of the table - if only for a few hours.

With title rivals Liverpool hosting Chelsea in the late kick-off, City moved one point clear at the summit after a dominant performance at Selhurst Park.

Sterling opened the scoring after Kevin de Bruyne's beautifully weighted pass saw his team-mate outsprint Patrick van Aanholt before an exquisite finish beyond Vicente Guaita.

England winger Sterling's instinctive finish after Leroy Sane's pass doubled the lead before Palace, who are 11 points above the relegation zone, reduced the deficit through Luka Milivojevic's late free-kick.

Substitute Gabriel Jesus extended City's lead with a smart finish to leave City one point clear of Liverpool with five games remaining.

Guardiola stated afterwards, "This pressure is incredible. We are fighting to be champions back to back. In two seasons we've got 83 points with five games left. We've won two titles (Community Shield) and now it's the FA Cup final.

On Sterling's two goals, he added: "He missed the first chance but the first goal was incredible. He's a guy who has scored a lot of goals. He fought and helped Kyle Walker."