Pellegrini: Man City could not afford anything except Watford win

Manuel Pellegrini praised Manchester City's character after Sergio Aguero inspired a late 2-1 comeback win at Watford – a game he believed they could not afford to drop points in.

City were without a league win on the road since September's last-gasp 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace and Aleksandar Kolarov's 55th-minute own goal looked set to be the source of further misery at Vicarage Road.

But Yaya Toure smashed home a volley from Kolarov's left-wing corner eight minutes from time before Bacary Sagna delivered a delightful cross that Aguero rose to dispatch beyond Heurelho Gomes two minutes later.

Third-place City remain three points behind leaders Arsenal, and Pellegrini gave Aguero special credit for his first Premier League goal since November's 4-1 loss to Liverpool.

"This team has a lot of character," he told Sky Sports. "We never give up. We continued trying to score, always thinking we are able to score.

"We were losing 1-0 and had to take a risk. A draw was not good – we needed three points.

"It was a very close, tough game for both teams. Watford are in a good moment. But I think we deserved to win – more shots, shots on target and possession.

"Aguero's goal is very important. I think he made a lot of good movement compared to the last games.

"We are not sending messages. It was important to end the six away games without a win. We want to go game by game."

Fernandinho turned in a typically tireless performance in the City midfield and the Brazilian later hailed Aguero's goal as "beautiful".

"We tried to score since the first minute and unfortunately they scored first in the second half," the midfielder added.

"I have a lot of confidence in my team. We kept playing, we kept fighting to the end and Kun [Aguero] scored a beautiful goal at the end.

"We win after so many matches away without a win. Football is like that."