Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City players were "fighting like animals" after the Premier League leaders beat bottom club Sheffield United to record a club-record 12th successive victory.
Aside from Gabriel Jesus' close-range strike from a Ferran Torres cross, an instinctive header from Bernardo Silva - created by a stray Oliver Norwood header - was City's only effort on target until Aaron Ramsdale denied Oleksandr Zinchenko and then Aymeric Laporte from the corner that followed.
But the Blues' defensive strength was again on show. Guardiola's side have now kept five clean sheets in a row in the Premier League, and an impressive 11 out of 13.