 |
| source:www.goal.com |
After Toure's deflected strike and then a superb curling effort put
City 2-0 up, Vincent Kompany netted the third for the visitors, who put
in an assured performance at The Hawthorns ahead of the meeting with
defending champions Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in their next BPL
match.
Manuel Pellegrini's men were in control from the off but there was an
element of good fortune about Toure's opener, the ball taking a double
deflection on its way past a flat-footed Boaz Myhill.
In contrast, his second was pure quality. The Ivory Coast
international linked up with compatriot Wilfried Bony before guiding a
superb effort beyond Myhill from the edge of the box.
Kompany wrapped up the win when he headed home from a corner after 59
minutes, sending City top of a Barclays Premier League table after the
opening weekend, which is exactly where they intend to be in 37 matches'
time.
West Brom handed debuts to Rickie Lambert, James McClean and James
Chester, but it was Manchester City's inclusion of Raheem Sterling that
garnered most attention in the build-up.
The England international's arrival from Liverpool was their
highest-profile signing of the close-season, but it was long-serving
Toure who had City in front after nine minutes.
Having received the ball from a Jesus Navas cutback, the Ivory Coast
international scuffed an effort that fortuitously found its way in via
deflections off David Silva and Craig Dawson.
It was no more than City deserved, with the visitors totally
dominating possession in the early stages, and Toure doubled the
advantage with a sweetly struck effort 15 minutes later.
Latching onto Bony's perfectly weighted lay-off, Toure emphatically
curled into the top right-hand corner, past a helpless Myhill.
Another nick off Dawson saw a Bony shot drift wide shortly after the
half-hour mark, before Sterling missed a great opportunity to mark his
debut with a goal - his effort saved after being sent through one-on-one
with the former Wales goalkeeper.
West Brom, who announced the club-record signing of Salomon Rondon
from Zenit St Petersburg earlier on Monday, barely threatened during the
first half and when Saido Berahino did eventually find the net just
before the break, he was flagged offside.
Sterling again saw a tame effort kept out by Myhill early in the
second half, while Lambert curled over a free-kick and Berahino
squandered a great chance at the other end.
Victory was all but assured for City one minute short of the hour
when Kompany escaped static home defending to turn Silva's corner beyond
Myhill from a tight angle.
James Morrison headed straight at Joe Hart as the home side looked to
restore some pride, but West Brom's race was run as City collected a
welcome three points, particularly in the context of dropped points for
Chelsea and Arsenal over the weekend.
West Bromwich Albion head coach Tony Pulis: "I take
responsibility for the way we set up. The fact we had Saido and Rickie
up front together pulled us away from what we should do. I said to them
afterwards I’d take responsibility.
"There are certain principles we have to stick by and work with to
get results at this level and I went away from that. We created quite a
few chances but we were far too loose as a team."
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini: "It is very important to start the season with a win. I'm always pleased when my team scores.
"I like attacking football. We did really well and when you score it
is important to score more but be balanced. To keep the clean sheet is
also important. We returned to see the Yaya Toure of a season ago.
"Raheem Sterling had two clear chances to score but he is just
starting with new team-mates. It was maybe not his best performance."
West Brom Manager:
Tony Pulis
Man City Manager:
Manuel Pellegrini| Club | Pld | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Man City | 1 | 3 |
| Leicester | 1 | 3 |
| Crystal Palace | 1 | 3 |
| West Ham | 1 | 3 |
| Aston Villa | 1 | 3 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 3 |
| Man Utd | 1 | 3 |
| Chelsea | 1 | 1 |
| Everton | 1 | 1 |
| Newcastle | 1 | 1 |
| Southampton | 1 | 1 |
| Swansea | 1 | 1 |
| Watford | 1 | 1 |
| Bournemouth | 1 | 0 |
| Stoke | 1 | 0 |
| Spurs | 1 | 0 |
| Sunderland | 1 | 0 |
| Norwich | 1 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 1 | 0 |
| West Brom | 1 | 0 |
Source from premierleague.com
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