The victory sees City climb to third in the Premier League table on 64 points after 35 matches, overtaking Newcastle United by two points and stretching the gap to four over Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, both of whom have a game in hand.

"We're in a better place than a few weeks ago - stringing wins together," said City boss Pep Guardiola in a post-match interview with Sky Sports. "The performance was strong today, but we can't afford to ease off. We still have Southampton, Bournemouth, and Fulham to come."

Wolves, who came into the match riding a six-game winning streak, drop to 13th after the defeat.

In a tense opening half, the visitors looked more dangerous and nearly took the lead through Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, whose unselfish pass to Marshall Munetsi missed its mark. Moments later, Rayan Ait-Nouri twice came close, striking the post and then seeing a follow-up cleared off the line by Josko Gvardiol.

City weathered the early pressure and broke through in the 35th minute. Jeremy Doku found space down the left and delivered a sharp cut-back for De Bruyne, who calmly side-footed the ball past Jose Sa to open the scoring.

The goal sparked emotional scenes at the Etihad, with fans serenading their long-serving captain. The 33-year-old Belgian, who revealed last month that he will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, acknowledged the crowd with a wave.

"I know there's just one more game here, so I'm just focused on doing my job like always," De Bruyne said. "I'm proud of what I've done, and today was no different."

De Bruyne, who has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons, admitted his surprise at not being offered a contract extension but emphasized that his performances still speak for themselves.

"Some of the guys have said it's sad to see me go, but that's life. I've given everything, and I want to keep winning," he added.

City nearly doubled their lead late in the first half through youngster Nico O'Reilly, whose deflected shot went narrowly wide. Wolves continued to press after the break, with Matheus Cunha striking the woodwork as they pushed for an equalizer.

Despite the pressure, City held firm to secure a vital three points.

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira praised his team's effort despite the result: "We showed our identity, courage, ambition, and team spirit. We didn't get the result, but I'm very proud of the performance."

Kevin de Bruyne strike edges Man City past Wolves to keep Champions League push alive