Pellegrini hails Toure and team spirit as City go top

Manuel Pellegrini’s side looked set to drop two points at home to their managerless opponents on Saturday when substitute Bafetimbi Gomis drove in a 90th-minute equaliser for his first goal since August.

However, City came up with an injury-timer victor when Yaya Toure’s goal-bound effort took a deflection off the back of young striker Kelechi Iheanacho.

Caretaker boss Alan Curtis and the rest of the bench leapt to their feet as Gomis finally broke through but they were quickly brought back to earth.

Yaya Toure and Manchester City murdered Swansea’s soul with a late goal on Saturday. Swansea meanwhile have had a very disappointing season compared to the heroics of last time out and are now hovering just above the relegation zone and have recently sacked manager Garry Monk, leaving them without a coach.

There were just two minutes more to play.

‘I always think the Premier League is the most important, it reflects the work of the whole year, ‘ said the man appointed by City’s ambitious owners largely on the strength of his pedigree in Europe.

The 32-year-old Manchester City of England midfielder is now the the third player, after Nigerian living legends, Nwankwo Kanu and Jay-Jay Okocha, to receive the honour twice. Yet this was a brief interruption in Swansea’s dictation of the play. “We had that unfortunate match against West Ham in September, when we had 20 shots on goal and lost 2-1”. I don’t think it was that hard to get the players concentrated on this game because it’s another three points.

‘There’s no point using excuses, saying we got beaten by the best teams. De Bruyne came on for David Silva midway through the second half without making much difference.

“Garry is so close to the team and he’s been here for a while so that makes it a little bit more personal”.

City was coming off a 4-2 victory earlier in the week over Borussia Monchengladbach in their final UEFA Champions League group-stage match.

“When they scored I thought this game would end a draw, but once again this team demonstrated its character to go and try and win the game”, Pellegrini told Sky Sports.

Swansea created the better chances against City, whose goalkeeper Joe Hart may have been the best player on the field.

Sunday’s slate of Premier League fixtures if chock full of title and top-four implications, with three sides – Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool – harboring dreams of the top-four, or higher, in action.

“We were not 100 percent recovered [after Gladbach]”, he added.

Elsewhere, Crystal Palace drew level on points with fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur, after Yohan Cabaye’s 38th-minute tap-in earned it a 1-0 home win over Southampton.