While the 0-0 stalemate failed to light the blue touch paper, Kovacic says the point added can help City finish in the top four.
He said afterwards: "Not a beautiful game to watch. It was tough.
“They were aggressive in the mid block so it was tough to find the right spaces to play. It was tough to create chances and we had to be careful with the counter attack because they are good going forward.
“It was a typical derby. We wanted the win but we take the point and move on. We always go for the win but we also had to be careful not to lose it because we are in a battle for the Champions League and we need points.
“We could have done more going forward and creating more but it was tough with the small spaces. We move on to the next games.
“We have to have the same mindset for Champions League because it is important that Man City are in the competition next season.
“It will be tough until the end because there are many teams that fight for the top four and no game in the Premier League is easy.
“But we are confident that we can achieve it.”