Manchester City 2-1 West Bromwich Albion

Samir Nasri scored his first Premier League goal since August having had a long lay-off through injury

Manchester City maintained their grip on fourth place in the Premier League as Samir Nasri returned from injury to score the winner against West Brom.

City had to come from behind after Stephane Sessegnon beat Joe Hart at his near post just six minutes in.

Sessegnon then brought down Aleksandar Kolarov in the area to allow Sergio Aguero to equalise from the spot.

Nasri tapped into an empty net with 25 minutes remaining to put City four points above rivals Manchester United.

United can close that gap if they beat Tottenham on Sunday, but City will also be keeping an eye on leaders Leicester City, who could reinstate a 15-point advantage over Manuel Pellegrini's side with victory over Sunderland.

Relive Man City's win over West Brom

City with one eye on PSG

Wilfried Bony had the fewest touches of any of City's starting XI (25) and barely registered an impact for his side

The prospect of reaching a first ever Champions League semi-final by beating Paris St-Germain at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday is more pressing for City, and the visit of the French side hung very much over Pellegrini's team selection and the performance as a whole.

The Chilean, who will be replaced by Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola in the summer, realises he can still leave an indelible mark on the club by taking them to European glory, and made five changes from the 2-2 draw in the first leg of their quarter-final with PSG last week.

Top-scorer Aguero started and took his goal tally for the season to 23, but hobbled off near the end of the contest after taking a set of studs to the calf from Albion's Craig Gardner, although the Argentinian did not look to be seriously hurt.

The hosts, with Nasri making a Premier League start for the first time since September after a thigh injury, took a while to get to grips with the reshuffle from midweek and looked flat without the twin creative sparks of Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva.

Wilfried Bony was rarely an influence up front and it was not until the hour mark and the introduction of De Bruyne and Yaya Toure - a welcome sight to City fans after a three-week layoff - that City came alive.

Belgian De Bruyne was integral to the winning goal, with his clever ball inside from the right flank allowing Jesus Navas to roll across to Aguero, whose blocked effort fell to the unmarked Nasri for a simple finish.

Baggies almost bounce City

West Brom will feel they missed an opportunity to take a point from the two-time Premier League champions with a performance that forced City to battle until the end.

Boss Tony Pulis has come under scrutiny from Albion fans for his direct style of play - despite having comfortably achieved safety - but their goal was well crafted, with James McClean whipping in a cross for Sessegnon to finish a swift counter-attack.

The Baggies do have goal-scoring concerns, though, and for all their grit, they ended the game with just two shots on target - however, that was two more than they had mustered in their two previous games.

Saido Berahino had a pair of good chances that he put wide, although one was clearly offside, and Sandro wanted a penalty when he was shoved by Eliaquim Mangala.

McClean could have snatched a point with the last kick of the game with a volley that zipped the wrong side of Hart's post.

Man of the match - Samir Nasri

With a goal, four key passes and the highest pass accuracy in the Man City side (95.5%), this was an impressive return for Samir Nasri

What they said

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini: "It was a very important win. You cannot lose these three points at home if you want to fight to be in the Champions League next year.

"Now we have a championship with four or five teams to try and play in the Champions League.

"When you have players like Kevin de Bruyne and Yaya Toure and they play with Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero, the way the team played changed immediately. I'm very happy with Samir Nasri."

West Brom boss Tony Pulis: "I thought we played well today. We've got 40 points and the important thing is the lads turn up in all the games. We did that today and gave them a game and the disappointing thing is we've got nothing out of it.

"We've got to hit the target more - it's been a fault of ours this season. And one or two decisions didn't go our way.

"I'm not sure it's a penalty for them. I think everyone in the stadium thought we should have had a penalty."

What's next?

It has already been mentioned once or twice, but City have a Champions League quarter-final second-leg to play against PSG on Tuesday, with the tie poised at 2-2. Their next Premier League fixture is at Chelsea on Saturday. West Brom host Watford on the same day, with the Albion two points above their opponents.

Stats you need to know

• Samir Nasri has scored four Premier League goals against West Brom (his equal-best, alongside Spurs).

• City have won consecutive Premier League games for the first time since October.

• No player has scored more Premier League goals in 2016 than Sergio Aguero (11, level with Harry Kane).

• Stephane Sessegnon scored just his second goal in his last 42 Premier League games.

• West Brom have had just four shots on target in their last four Premier League games, yet have scored with two of them.

• Sergio Aguero has scored four times in four home league games against the Baggies.

• Manchester City have won each of their last nine Premier League games against West Brom.

• West Brom have enjoyed just one win in their last 11 Premier League away games (D5 L5).