City took the lead through a 79th-minute penalty by Elano after Danny Sturridge's heels were clipped by Sunderland's Nyron Nosworthy as the City youngster ran through the box.
And although Dean Whitehead claimed an 82nd-minute equaliser for the hosts, Elano found Darius Vassell and his scuffed effort crept over the line with 3 minutes left to give City their 1st win in 4 and just their 4th since the turn of the year.
City climbed back above Blackburn into 8th and Sven refuses to give up on Europe with 4 games remaining.
"It was always going to be a battle and a difficult game," he said. "But the spirit seems to be back and let's hope it stays until the end of the season.
"From the bench I thought Vassell's goal was going wide, and maybe the penalty was harsh but referee Rob Stiles gave a harsh one against us at Birmingham. There was definitely contact though."
Elano preferred being back in a central position behind lone striker Benjani and his strike took his tally to 9 for the season.
Sven now hopes the Brazilian star can maintain that form as City aim to make their strongest-possible finish.
"Maybe the luck has turned," Sven added, "but I thought the boys did very well and Elano was very good, more like the real Elano. I hope we see more of it in the next few weeks.
"He's been out of form a little bit for some time, he and Martin Petrov have been important for us in terms of scoring and creating goals all season.
"Petrov was out of the team for a while (through suspension) and Elano was out of form so it's good to see them back like this.
"Elano's the player with imagination who can see things, play team-mates in and score goals as well, but he worked hard defensively against Sunderland as well. That was important with what kind of game we knew it would be."