Pellegrini salutes gritty City
MANCHESTER: Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester City showed the spirit they will need to maintain their Premier League title challenge after securing a late 2-1 win over Swansea.
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.
But City t hen f ound a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Yaya Toure’s shot was deflected in off the back of Kelechi Iheanacho.
City’s title credentials were severely questioned after a lacklustre 2-0 loss at Stoke last weekend, but Pellegrini was encouraged by the way his players overcame their inconsistent display against Swansea and found a way to grind out the victory.
“I think we showed the spirit of this team when Swansea came back to 1-1. There were just two minutes more to play. We tried to score and fortunately we got another goal,” Pellegrini said.
“Of course, there was a feeling of relief. Without the last two minutes, maybe we would have won 1-0.
“We didn’t play well, but we got the three points. It was important to win the game.”
Defeat means that Swansea, who sacked manager Garry Monk on Wednesday, have won just one of their last 12 league matches, and are only a point above the relegation zone.
They need a new manager quickly, but caretaker boss Alan Curtis said he did not know when chairman Huw Jenkins would appoint a permanent replacement for Monk.
“We have had different types of manager in the past. We have always brought in a manager to suit our style rather than changing everything,” Curtis said.
“Whoever it is, the most important thing is to get the right man.”
Gomis hadn’t been on the scoresheet since netting in each of Swansea’s first four league matches this season, and had come in for heavy criticism for his recent performances.
Curtis had dropped the striker to the bench as he began with a 4-3-3 formation, featuring Gylfi Sigurdsson as a false nine. But Gomis carried a significant threat when he came on, which pleased the standin manager.
“He is a goalscorer and if you are not scoring goals then you will get criticism,” Curtis said. “He showed today what a great player he is. Sometimes when scorers are not scoring, you have to take them out of the firing line. But we see his qualities on a regular basis in training.
“I thought when Gomis scored, it would have been a fantastic point but maybe that is the difference between teams at the bottom and top, that little bit of luck.
“I thought we were excellent and deserved to get something.”