Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City have handled their problems better than other clubs would have done this season. In what has been the worst season of the manager's career, a 5-2 win over Crystal Palace leaves the race for Champions League football next year in their hands. It has been a chastening time for a squad who have won everything there is to win and lifted the Premier League for a record fourth time in May. A miserable campaign looked to be getting worse when Palace scored twice inside a torrid opening at the Etihad on Saturday. However, Kevin De Bruyne inspired the team to fight back and claim an important three points to move City back into the top four. With a gentler run-in than any of their rivals, they will fancy their chances of confirming a Champions League spot for another season. That isn't what they wanted when they started the campaign, but it will never not be appreciated - especially after a year when so many key players have been unavailable for so long. Guardiola made a point of naming five stars who watched the match from behind the bench because they were not involved in the squad, and also stressed that other clubs would have slumped more badly than City have in similar circumstances. "This season, maybe it's the season where we came back more with results. In previous seasons we were not able to turn it around but this season, we have done it because we haven't played good," he said. "If the level had been quite similar to today we would have been up there fighting with the top teams but the team has not played good, without this energy that was the characteristic of this generation of players. "Some seasons happen. Try and limit the damage as much as possible, go into Europe next season fighting for the FA Cup and prepare for the Club World Cup and next season. "Now we have two days off and the players must be mentally rested, prepare for four or five days for Goodison and then an important week with Aston Villa and the Fa Cup. I think we will be ready. "The players are exceptional. When we were not playing not good, I'm not going to say the players aren't good. We didn't find the spark, I didn't find it to lift the players for many months but it sometimes happens. "You cannot win all the time and with the the season we have done other teams would be in 10th or 12th. I promise you. The incredible situations that we had this season with injuries and how we went a little bit flat in many departments, we would be miles back. "The Premier League speaks for itself. Instead of that, it's not perfect but it's in our hands for the last six games to qualify for the Champions League next season." --- Here at The Manchester Evening News, we're dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don't miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get the club's breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories. And, finally, if you'd rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .