Toure Praises Team Spirit After Victory Over West Ham

City locked up three points at the weekend, meaning the Sky Blues are now just two points behind Arsenal and one point shy of Manchester United in the table.

The scintillating quest for second place carries on.

The victory over West Ham on Sunday was absolutely crucial, as City desperately needed all three points to keep pace with Arsenal and United. The victory also ensured that the second half of the season will not be remembered as a full-blown implosion.

The match followed a fairly predictable script: City managed roughly two-thirds of the possession, logged twice as many shots as West Ham and ultimately earned a 2-0 victory over a Hammers side that has struggled to get results of late.

After the match, Yaya Toure said:

"It was an important win because we have had a lot of criticism lately - which is part of the game - but we showed great team spirit today even though we probably should have won by more because we had so many chances."

Manuel Pellegrini added:

"It was important to win because we came here from two defeats.

"We must continue working together and it is very important to finish as near to the top of the table as possible."

Aguero continued his magic, as he found the back of the net yet again to raise his goal total to 26 in all competitions this season. Meanwhile, David Silva did not suffer any cheekbone or collarbone injuries following a nasty collision with Cheikhou Kouyate.

Commenting on Silva's injury scare, Pellegrini did not fault Kouyate:

"I always think that a player doesn't want to damage another player."

Good news for Silva. Good news for City. Much like the win itself, this comes as a huge sigh of relief, as second place is still up for grabs.