Bacary Sagna paid tribute to the returning Yaya Toure and said he never wanted to see him leave the Etihad, despite the Ivorian not playing in three months.

Toure was frozen out by Pep Guardiola after the Spanish boss took umbrage with comments made by the midfielder’s agent Dimitri Seluk.

The powerful ex-Barcelona man made his first appearance in a City shirt since August on Saturday though, claiming two vital goals as Guardiola’s side recorded a narrow victory over Crystal Palace.

Sagna was also making his first City appearance since September, at Selhurst Park, and the former Arsenal man praised his colleague’s impact on the side.

“I am very pleased for him because it has not been easy for him in the past few weeks,” said the defender.

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“He kept working really hard in training, stayed professional, and that was his just reward.

“Everyone knows his quality, and he showed he is a great player. Everyone was expecting a lot from him and he responded.

“The manager showed his confidence in Yaya, and Yaya gave it back to him.

“Yaya is a great guy and has always been part of the club. Nobody doubts he is a great player, but he showed some character and proved he can be decisive.

“It could have been a difficult situation, but knowing the man I was not surprised to see him achieving the game he played at Palace because he was always respectful to everyone, always professional, and he is always the first one to try to play football, his football.”

Everton must up their work rate if they are to earn the respect of the home fans at Goodison Park, according to Ronald Koeman.

The Merseysiders were trailing lowly Swansea City after a slow start on Saturday but Seamus Coleman rescued a point for the Blues in the 89th minute.

Everton now sit seventh in the Premier League after just a single victory in their last seven league games having started the season with four wins from five.

And Koeman knows there’s plenty for his side to work in training over the coming days on as they prepare to face Southampton this Sunday.

“It [starting slowly] is a concern,” he said. “We know if we play at home and we perform like we did in the second half then we will always have the support of the fans.

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

“We need to make things difficult, press and run – and go for it. I think that is where we need to improve.

“Maybe today we were lacking a little bit of confidence after what happened against Chelsea. Maybe there were doubts.

“But if you have doubts on the pitch then you’re not yourself and you can’t give your best to the team.”

Leicester City may have happy memories of taking on Club Brugge but striker Jamie Vardy insists they cannot take any Champions League game for granted.

The Foxes only need a point from their Club Brugge rematch to qualify from Group G for the last 16 in their first attempt at Europe’s elite football competition.

And having beaten the Belgian club 3-0 in their first ever Champions League game earlier this year, confidence amongst the City fans will be high come Tuesday.

But Vardy, who is expected to be without strike partner Islam Slimani due to injury, knows Leicester cannot start getting too ahead of themselves.

“We need to make sure that we focus on ourselves and pay Club Brugge the respect that they deserve,” he said.

(Photo by Gregory Van Gansen/ MB Media/Getty Images)

“We need to focus on ourselves and make sure that we’re at 100 per cent – that should be enough to get us the win.

“We just went there with no fear. We knew they were going to be tough to break down but as we saw from the performance that night, we thoroughly deserved the victory.

“We just need to make sure that we’re at that form again.

“It was massive because it was our first-ever game in the Champions League as well so to get a result like we did and play the way we did was unbelievable.”

Manager Alan Pardew insists his Crystal Palace side are not too far from turning their form around despite suffering a fifth straight defeat at the weekend.

Two goals from Yaya Toure gave Manchester City victory at Selhurst Park on Saturday with Palace’s winless streak stretching back to September 23.

Palace now face a crucial week ahead of taking on fellow strugglers Swansea City this coming weekend.

But Pardew is confident he has the quality in his squad to improve on their lowly league position which sees them just one point above the relegation zone.

“It’s not like teams are running away from us and we’re looking uncomfortable or you could doubt our work rate,” said Pardew.

(Photo credit should read OLLY GREENWOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

“We’re putting everything in and that’s all you can do and hope that something breaks for you, and when it does you go on a little run.

“The quality we have in the group is good and I’m comfortable that it’s early in the season and we have a good distance to get this team in a good place, and we’re not far from it.

“We have games coming up where we need to take some points, and the position in the league will put a bit extra pressure on us.”

Jurgen Klopp insists there were positives to take from Liverpool’s draw with Southampton despite the Reds losing top spot in the Premier League.

Klopp’s side top the scoring charts so far this season but were kept scoreless at St Mary’s allowing Chelsea to leapfrog them at the top of the table.

Despite that, the German manager was not overly concerned about the result – with Liverpool keeping a first clean sheet in 12 away games in the league.

And he believes that the Reds could have come away with nothing on another day, particularly after a below-par first-half performance.

(Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“You have to take the small things – it’s a point. We have one more than before the game, that’s OK,” he said.

“Usually a game like this, you lose, and we lost games like this already. We really were fighting even for the draw and that’s good and important.

“I saw the crowd after the game and they were happy with the performance and they didn’t expect that we [would score] four or five, they knew it’s difficult.

“I like this common idea. It’s hard work, and we were not surprised about it, but first half we were not brilliant.

“The second half was much better, we should have won but we didn’t, but that’s easy to accept because I’ve had to accept worse results than this.”

Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez is just too ‘remarkable’ a player to be left on the bench – according to boss Arsene Wenger.

Despite only returning from international duty less than 48 hours ahead of the clash with Manchester United last weekend, the Chilean went straight into the starting line-up at Old Trafford.

And although he was recovering from a hamstring injury, the 27-year-old played the full 90 minutes as Olivier Giroud nodded home a late leveller for the Gunners.

Wenger admits that Sanchez is too integral to his plans to be left on the bench, particularly for such a big game against their rivals.

“It’s very unusual [to play someone after that],” Wenger said. “I chose him because Alexis is a guy who can take people on and I knew that would be a quality that would work. He is good on the counter-attack, good in short spaces as well. He’s always a player who is not scared of anybody.

(Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“He played very well in the first half but we didn’t give him enough service in the second half because we dropped off too much and we played too many balls in our own half. We didn’t give him enough support by coming out more. For a guy who played a decisive game on Wednesday morning, and then travelling after, it’s remarkable.”

West Ham had their hearts broken by Harry Kane on Saturday evening but midfielder Pedro Obiang is confident his side will bounce back in immediate style.

Leading 2-1 at White Hart Lane as the clock ticked into the 90th minute, Hammers fans were dreaming of a dramatic derby win.

But in the end it was Kane, who scored twice in two minutes, who turned the game on its head to send the visitors home with nothing.

But Obiang, a former Spain U21 international, is adamant that there were still plenty of positives to take from the heartbreaking defeat.

“We have to take the positives out of the game,” he said.

“It was good to see (Diafra) Sakho and Andre (Ayew) back in action and Darren (Randolph) made some good saves so we have to stay positive.

“We were very upset in the dressing room after the final whistle. It was a great game and we tried everything to win but in the final few minutes we lost the points.

“Normally in football if you don’t see the game out it is normal that the other team will try to come back and we need to improve and not make little mistakes.

“We need to be positive because we had played well but in recent games we have lost games in the second half and we need to change something.”

(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Next up the Hammers face Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United and the midfielder is hoping his team will rally in time.

“We have another big game next week against Manchester United and we know it will be another tough game,” he added.

“If we had won against Tottenham it would have made things easier for us going into that game, but we have to keep going.”

Manchester United may have been the better side in their draw with Arsenal on Saturday – but defender Phil Jones admits it feels like his side have been hit for six.

Juan Mata scored what looked like a deserved winner in the second half but Olivier Giroud silenced Old Trafford at the death to secure a precious point for the title-chasing Gunners.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the result leaves the Red Devils six points off the top four and looking to get back on track in the Premier League with another home fixture against struggling West Ham on Sunday.

But Jones, who appeared for just the second time this season at the weekend, is convinced United only need a slice of luck for the Jose Mourinho era to get going.

“It feels like we have been slapped 6-0,” Jones said. “We completely dominated the game from start to finish, and even when they had a spell of possession they never really created anything to test us.

“I thought we defended well, created chances and it was just one of those things. They got one chance and scored. We have to pick ourselves up, we are pleased with the performance but not with the result.

“Sometimes the luck is not on your side but it will change. We just have to keep plugging away, keep training well, keep playing and keep putting performances in like that and hopefully it will then change.”

Tottenham Hotspur must take the belief they demonstrated at the weekend into Tuesday’s crucial Champions League game against Monaco, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Spurs boss saw Harry Kane score two late goals as the north London club overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat West Ham 3-2 at White Hart Lane on Saturday evening.

It moved Pochettino’s side up to fifth in the league, but they remain four points behind leaders Chelsea after draws to Arsenal, Leicester City and Bournemouth.

And Spurs now face a crucial Champions League game away at Monaco on Tuesday night – they trail the French side, who top Group E, by four points with two games to play.

“It’s our 12th game in the Premier League and we’re still unbeaten,” said Pochettino.

“That’s fantastic for us but you know the last month has been tough for us and it’s fantastic to discover that feeling again for the games ahead.

(Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

“The first is a game we must win against Monaco, and it’s for that reason we need to have the mentality and feeling that we can go to Monaco and win.

“That is the good thing we need to take out of the game.

“Never forget that always believing is the most important thing, work hard and that is the main thing we need to keep for the future.

“Football is never finished until the final whistle and if you believe, keep working and try to find the best situation to score, anything can happen in football.”

Diego Costa needs to keep playing with the control he has been showing so far this season if he is to continue his rich vein of goalscoring form, according to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

The 28-year-old Spanish international became the first man in the Premier League to reach double figures this term, netting the only goal in the Blues’ 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough.

Costa has now scored in six of Chelsea’s past seven away games, and under the Italian he seems to have put to bed the aggressive tendencies that plagued his game last season.

But while Conte has hailed him as one of the world’s best hitmen, he believes Costa needs to keep his focus on helping his teammates on the pitch rather than causing trouble, if his purple patch is to continue.

“Diego is always important,” he said. “He is the point of reference in our attack, and together with Eden and Pedro, they played a good game today.

“Diego is impressing with the way he is finding ways to score goals. It’s important to continue in this way because we need his goals, Eden’s goals, Willian’s goals, Pedro’s goals…

“In the past, people asked me about his behaviour, his reaction, his passion, and now he’s one of the best strikers in the world. He has to continue in this way. He is showing his passion in the right way.

“He is very focused on helping the team with and without the ball, and he is scoring goals.”