Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini was delighted after his side's 3-0 away win against Southampton on Sunday afternoon.
The win allows the Citizens to leapfrog the Saints and keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea ahead of the games in mid-week.
"I am very pleased. We beat a very good team," Pellegrini told Sky Sports.
"They were second in the table and deserved that position. We played a very good game it was important to have a clean sheet again, they had just one chance in the 90 minutes and that is important for the trust in our team, and to score three goals against the best defence is also very important.
"I told the referee he must decide if it is a penalty or not, I was sure it was not yellow card.
"I know [Sergio Aguero], he does not try to cheat the referee. But after it was important to open the game, it was close in the first 45 minutes and we continued working as a team in defence and attack until we scored.
"[After Eliaquim Mangala being sent off and Vincent Kompany coming off injured] we don't have both but we have Martin Demichelis and Dedryck Boyata, who is working very well, and Bacary Sagna can also play centre-back.
"We cannot know if Vincent Kompany has a problem with his hamstring, we will see with the doctor tomorrow. It was a precaution, we will see if it is a cramp or injury."