Manuel Pellegrini: 'Results are more important than performances'

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has praised his side for grabbing a late winner against Aston Villa this evening.

The Midlands team thought they had secured a 2-2 draw when Carlos Sanchez scored, but Fernandinho replied just minutes later to earn the champions a second straight win.

Pellegrini told BBC Sport: "Today we didn't play as well, but we had the spirit and fight to win in the last five minutes despite their late equaliser.

"The results are always more important than the performances, but I think that we normally play well, today we showed the spirit and the belief that perhaps we have not had in other games when we have had more possession.

"I was not satisfied with the way we played today, but sometimes you need different things to win games."

The result moves City up to second in the Premier League table.