Pellegrini on Antonio goal

“I think it was a goal that reflected the difference between both teams.

I think both teams played very well, we defended for 90 minutes the way we hadn’t in other games so I am happy for our performance. It was not an easy goal for Antonio to score but he did very well.

Pellegrini on Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop back together

I said last week that the team was doing well, we deserved against Man Utd and Leicester better results. I am absolutely sure that if my team plays in that way, with the personality of a big team then we can beat anyone.

Pellegrini on Mark Noble

I don’t think anyone has doubts about Mark’s commitment to this team. If you want to be a big team you need good performances from individual players.

After that with those good performances you need to play well as a team.

Today we defend well, had good possession of the ball, we didn’t lose to many easy balls and created a couple of chances against a team that is in the semi-final of the Champions League and third in the Premier League, a very difficult team with a great manager and very good players.

Pellegrini on Marko Arnautovic 

I think he just felt a little problem in his muscle, nothing serious.

I think Marko improved a lot in the second half, he has a great assist for the goal of Antonio, not an easy goal to score.