Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini admits his side should have performed better despite edging Aston Villa by 3-2 on Saturday.
The Citizens allowed Villa to fight back from 2-0 down and looked set to drop points before Fernandinho's goal in the dying minutes of the game.
The win moves City up to second with Arsenal and Manchester United both in action on Sunday.
"Today we didn't play as well," Pellegrini is quoted as saying by the BBC.
"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."
