Pep Guardiola admitted his relief after seeing Manchester City's nightmare run come to an end at the Etihad.
The Premier League champions beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 to win their first game in eight attempts. It was City's first triumph since October - and halted the worst sequence of results in Guardiola's managerial career.
But City's joy was tempered by injuries to defenders Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake. Guardiola said: "We needed it (the win).
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"The club, the players, everyone needed to win, but it is just one game and in three days we are at Selhurst Park. The problems continue with Manu and Nathan, but we prove what an incredible group of players we have at our disposal.
"We played good. The performance was better than Liverpool and Bournemouth, but quite similar to the other games that we didn't win. Today we won. That's all." Guardiola piled praise on the returning Kevin De Bruyne, who set-up Bernardo Silva's opening goal and scored the second, before Jeremy Doku completed the win.
Manchester City
Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 (Image: PA)
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Guardiola said: "I'm so happy for him. Last season he was many months injured and this season as well. I'm so happy he's back. He fought a lot and he's back with his physicality. He played 75 fantastic minutes."
Guardiola was also pleased with Jack Grealish's display in midfield and he added: "He played in the middle and was involved in many things.
"He played really good, I'm so happy for him. I know his quality, he can even play as a holding midfielder. He can keep the ball and break the lines."
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: "I'm not saying it was bad performance, and there were positive things to take from it. We had chances but couldn't take them. But we should be proud of ourselves because we tried, and this performance should allow us to continue to grow."