Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists he was always confident of victory over Crystal Palace.

City had eight attempts in the first half, but Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni did not have a save to make because of City's wayward finishing.

The hosts improved after the break though and David Silva put them ahead with a deflected shot that looped over Speroni.

The Spaniard converted Aleksandar Kolarov's square pass to double City's lead before Yaya Toure sealed the win with nine minutes to go.

"I was always confident (we would win)," Pellegrini said.

"We had the patience to try to create the space. We did not allow them to have not one counter attack.

"I was absolutely sure we were going to score and in the end we scored three goals against a difficult team that defended very well."