The 30-year-old, who has suffered fitness problems and tested positive for Coronavirus this season, was back to his brilliant best, chipping in with two goals to join Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Nathan Ake and John Stones on the scoresheet.
Manchester City moved four points clear at the top of the table, with their closest challengers set to play on Wednesday.
"There's been a lot happening this year, a little bit out of my control, so the only thing I can do is try to work hard and come back as quick as possible," City playmaker De Bruyne told NBC.
"It's unfortunate with everything that happened, and at the time I was coming back in a good rhythm until I got COVID. So it happened and now we're working hard to come back in a good level.
"I think we played incredibly well, especially with the way they press; we found the right time to attack them."
"When you're three or four-nil up it gets tougher for them," said Belgium international De Bruyne. "They tried to keep it a little more tight in the second half, but I think we had enough chances to score a lot more.
"It's good for everybody. A lot of people who maybe didn't play a lot played today chipped in, so for the whole team it's a booster.
"We were patient at the beginning and at the right times we found the gaps to go forward and punished them."
Man City will travel to Newcastle United for their next Premier League game on Sunday.
