Kevin De Bruyne believes Sunday's FA Cup quarter final with Newcastle United is Manchester City's "most important" match of the season so far.
The defeat for Pep Guardiola's side on Thursday night at Chelsea confirmed Liverpool as Premier League champions.
But the current FA Cup holders remain in contention in this year's competition and in the Champions League, having beaten Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.
While the defeat at Stamford Bridge was disappointing, De Bruyne admits the club's pursuit of a third consecutive Premier League title was almost a lost cause after Project Restart.
With two competitions left to play for, the Belgian playmaker believes the upcoming tie at St James' Park is the beginning of an important run for the club.
De Bruyne told City's club website: "When we started the season again after lockdown it was clear the Premier League would be gone.
“That’s confirmed now. Obviously we know the FA Cup and the Champions League are the competitions we can win.
“With Newcastle being the first game, I guess this is the most important out of the four.”
De Bruyne scored one of the goals of the season on City's last visit to St James' Park in November last year. The visitors led twice, but were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw after Jonjo Shelvey's late equaliser.
The 29-year-old believes it is always "tough-going" for visiting sides on Tyneside, and believes the Magpies have a clear "identity" under Steve Bruce.
De Bruyne added: "I think they're a really good structural team, and they know what they are. I think it's really important to have an identity as a team.
"They're very compact, they have some good strikers and pacy wingers so it's always been tough-going at Newcastle. Obviously there's no fans now, so we don't know if that makes a difference but it is going to be a tough game."
