MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City have proved their doubters wrong after making it into the last-16 of the Champions League and going level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.
Three weeks ago, City were bottom of their Champions League group and were nine points behind Chelsea but a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace extended their winning run to eight games and wiped out their deficit to Jose Mourinho's team.
Pellegrini believes his side have produced the response of champions, telling a postmatch news conference: "Maybe nobody believed one or two months ago we can continue in the Champions League and can be involved in the fight in the title.
"But we always trust in what we do and the way we work every day and that is why I am so happy the squad demonstrates why we won the title last year."
David Silva scored twice against Palace and Yaya Toure added the third goal but Pellegrini praised James Milner for his performance as a stand-in striker.
Specialist centre-forwards Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic were all injured and midfielder Milner produced a selfless display of running as he deputised for them.
Pellegrini added: "Milner made a very good performance, a sacrifice performance. He moves a lot to create the space for the midfielders. Milner is a player that works really hard, that creates a lot of movement and creates a lot of spaces for the rest of the teammates.
"David also arrives very well in the box, as did Yaya. That is the way we were working during the week to try to create the space for them to arrive in the second line."
Pellegrini hailed his players for winning without three strikers and their captain, saying: "Without Sergio, without Dzeko, without Jovetic, without [Vincent] Kompany, I think that other players are having their moments and they are having an important answer in the way David did."
Toure took his tally to five goals in eight games but Pellegrini argued his entire midfield are returning to form.
He said: "Yaya was criticised at the beginning of the season but it was not only Yaya was not in his best performance. I said at that moment: When our midfielders Yaya, Fernandinho, [Samir] Nasri and Silva return to their normal performance, the team will play again the way we normally do.
"I think that all of them this moment are in a very good moment, especially Fernandinho, Yaya and Nasri, who are playing regularly, and David is returning from a long injury."