Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was grateful to James Milner after his equaliser earned a point at Hull City.

It has been claimed that Milner may have reservations about committing to a new contract because he may not be able to command a regular starting spot.

Again he was on the bench and Pellegrini said: "I needed to make changes because last two games we didn't score one goal here against Arsenal or Middlesbrough.

"I made changes to bring back Samir Nasri from injury but James Milner always has a space.

"He scored a beautiful goal from a free-kick. He has started a lot of games but it's a team problem, not just one individual player."