Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne raged against the dying of the light at Wembley but it showed the time has come to say goodbye
The clock at Wembley was ticking towards the 99th minute as Kevin De Bruyne took possession of the ball in a central area, around 25 yards from goal. It was the kind of position from which he has wreaked untold havoc in defences for the last decade.
This time, the magic deserted him, and in truth, maybe the magic really has gone. His attempt to loft a ball over the top of the Crystal Palace defence had too much on it and drifted harmlessly out of play. With that, the FA Cup was in the hands of Palace.
This isn't how De Bruyne envisaged his final week at City beginning. Maybe he will have a moment against Bournemouth on Tuesday in his Etihad farewell, or in his final appearance against Fulham next week. Both of those games have something riding on them.
But this afternoon felt like the perfect opportunity for the 33-year-old to make his point. He doesn't want to leave City and feels like he is being ushered towards the exit when he still has something to give. His many suitors in Europe still think his talent deserves a home here, rather than in Saudi Arabia or the United States.
This is no longer peak De Bruyne, however. The injuries have taken their toll. The mind can still do what the body can't. He didn't turn this into his cup final, and although there were moments of quality, there were more moments when it just didn't work. Passes were under-hit. Crosses weren't accurate. Shots weren't hit cleanly.
De Bruyne scored in his first FA Cup appearance for City, a third-round win at Norwich in 2016. He's scored nine more in the competition since then, registered 18 assists, and lifted the trophy three times. There wouldn't be a fourth and final farewell.
It felt like an ominous start when De Bruyne left a sideways pass to Manuel Akanji short inside five minutes. The right-back had to foul Eberechi Eze as a result, and it stifled an early spell of dominance. Another through ball to Savinho was a yard short of pace soon after.
There were still flashes of the old quality. That back-post cross from a deeper position created a chance for Erling Haaland. But too often, he was in positions that were too deep to make an impact.
Maybe he thought the script was written when a loose ball fell to him 10 yards out in the first half, but it was a difficult chance to keep down, and he blazed it over the bar. Early in the second half, he tried to whip in another cross but it failed to clear the first man.
De Bruyne's passing continued to let him down, and City were unable to sustain the pressure they had been putting on the Palace goal earlier in the game.
Twice in quick succession, the Belgian got shots away from the edge of the area, but his left-footed effort lacked power and was blocked at source, with his right-footed shot hitting the head of Adam Wharton and spinning clear.
Maybe De Bruyne's best moment was the pass he sent into Nico O'Reilly in the box, only for the academy graduate to take too long to get his shot away. It didn't bring an upturn in the fortunes of the creator. A couple of minutes later, the Belgian stumbled over the ball as he tried to move forward from deep and lost possession.
There was one final shot in the 90th minute that rolled harmlessly wide, and then that final, heavy pass into the Palace box. De Bruyne might not be happy about it, but it's hard to argue City have got this one wrong. Thanks for the memories, Kev, but the timing feels right.