Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini hailed the performance of David Silva after the midfielder inspired the Premier League champions to a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Spain international scored twice in the second half to break the Eagles' resistance as City moved level on points with Chelsea at the top of the table.
And Pellegrini feels Silva did well to step up and fill the void left by the injured Sergio Aguero as the Etihad Stadium outfit started with no recognised strikers and just James Milner up front.
"This team always needs Sergio Aguero to play because he is a very important player," the Chilean told reporters.
"But this team is not just about Sergio Aguero. Silva is exactly the same. They are top players that make the difference.
"But, if for any reason they cannot play, we have a team that works a lot and knows how to do it.
"In this case, without Sergio, [Steven] Jovetic, [Edin] Dzeko or [Vincent] Kompany, the other players are having important moments like the way David did today."
A fourth goal would have carried Pellegrini's side ahead of Chelsea on goals scored ahead of their title rivals' trip to Stoke City on Monday.
Despite only sitting second, Pellegrini believes his side's run of eight straight victories has showcased exactly why they won the title back in May.
"I don’t know if Chelsea feel the pressure or not," the former Real Madrid boss added. "The important thing for our team is to get three more points.
"We have to continue the way we are playing so far and believe in every day that we can be involved in the title race.
"December is a key month. It’s not the month you win the title but it's a month where you play so many games, and if you want to be inviolved for the title you have to be near as you can be to the top of the table.
"We are in a good moment and maybe no one believed one or two months ago that we can continue in the Champions League and be involved for the title.
"We always trust in what we do and once again the squad is demonstrating why we won the title last year."
Palace manager Neil Warnock, meanwhile, bemoaned the performance of the officials after his side saw a goal wrongly ruled out for offside.
James McArthur headed in Yannick Bolasie's cross with the score 2-0, and though he was flagged offside, replays showed Fernandinho was playing him onside by the touchline.
And the former Sheffield United coach was left fuming as he felt a goal at that stage could have set the platform for his side to stage a comeback.
"We worked hard even after the second goal and, as you all know by now, we scored a cracking goal that would have put the whole stadium under a little bit of doubt," he said.
"With 20 minutes left it was a real opportunity for us to have a real go and try and come away with a point.
"It’s hard enough to score at the Etihad without it being chalked off unreasonably. It's days like today I wish I was still working in the media so I could say what I want without getting fined. It's disappointing to say the least.
“It’s two yards onside. He's in a bad position and it’s disgraceful decision. At this level you have to get decisions like that right."
source: goal.com
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