Manuel Pellegrini believes his side showed great resilience in beating Swansea after their recent hectic run, with particular applause given to Yaya Toure.
City secured a dramatic later winner when Toure’s shot deflected off Kelechi Iheanacho, after Bafetimbi Gomis’ 90th minute strike seemed to cancel out Wilfried Bony’s early opener.
Pellegrini commended his team, and Toure in particular, and his side now have a week’s break before meeting Arsenal after their busy recent schedule.
“Yaya was one of the best players in this game. He was the player who tried to create different things,” the City manager said.
“He just came back from an injury in his calf and he played in midweek so I’m happy for him.
“That was our fifth game in 15 days, it was important to win this game. Now we’ll see what happens at the top of the table. We have the week to work before we play Arsenal.”
In grabbing the victory, City showed some great attacking depth which bodes well for them over the busy Christmas period.
Despite the fact Sergio Aguero is likely to be returning to the squad shortly, Bony’s goal on Saturday means he now has eight for the season in all competitions.
The assist for Bony was provided by Spanish winger Jesus Navas, who since his debut in August 2013 now has the joint-most assists in all competitions (27 – level with David Silva).
The Citizens now must look to regaining their place at the top of the league and Toure believes they can push on from this weekend’s result, and they have the players to put pressure on anybody at the top of the table.
“At the beginning of the day we wanted to be back on top of the table and put a little bit of pressure on Leicester and Arsenal,” the Ivorian midfielder said.
“I think it was very important to win against a difficult team like Swansea. In midweek we were fighting and running a lot against Borussia but I think it was good to win this game.
“We have great players and every one of them are very good individually and we keep going and believing.”
Image courtesy of Action Images/Carl Recine, with thanks.
