Frank Lampard has hailed Manchester City's 1-0 victory over Leicester City as an important one as it showed their ability to "grind out" results.
Lampard netted the only goal of the game shortly before the interval to keep City hot on the heels of his former side Chelsea, who beat Hull 2-0 at home this afternoon.
The 36-year-old admitted that his side "were not at their best" but reiterated the importance of winning when not playing well.
"Those are the kind of games we need to get results, we needed to grind them out," Lampard told BBC Sport. "We were not at our best but got three points.
"I've watched Leicester and seen even though they are down near the bottom, they are not short of passion. They showed that today.
"We were nowhere near the force we can be sometimes, but you have to show two sides to your game and I think we did that today."
Lampard has now netted four goals for City in his loan spell from New York City FC.