No crisis at City, says Pellegrini as his men get back to winning ways

Manuel Pellegrini praised Manchester City's reaction to a testing week and insisted there is no crisis at Eastlands after a 3-1 win over Southampton put his side back on top of the Premier League.

City had suffered a 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool last weekend and then a 1-0 loss at Juventus in their penultimate Champions League Group game on Wednesday as their winless run extended to three games.

But Saturday's victory against Southampton, who hadn't lost away from home in the league since the final day of last season, lifted City's spirits and gave Pellegrini the ammunition to silence the critics after Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola was once again linked with his job.

“Yes of course it was a very important reaction. It was not an easy week,” said Pellegrini, whose side are above Leicester on goal difference.

“Talking about the Premier League we just won one point from six so it was very important to win against an unbeaten team away. I was happy with the performance.

“I think the game we played against Liverpool was not a normal game for our team or for individual players.