Manchester C 4 Wolverhampton W 3:EDIN DZEKO emerged from his thrill-a-minute Manchester City debut to declare the Premier League to be somewhat different to life in Germany.
Ineligible for Tuesday’s FA Cup third-round replay with Leicester, Blues boss Roberto Mancini opted to throw his €32 million newcomer straight into the fray against Wolves yesterday.
A breathless 4-3 win at Eastlands provided not only three precious points in the quest for a first City league title since 1968, but also a crash course in English football for Dzeko.
“The game is different,” smiled the Bosnian. “It is harder than Germany. It is probably going to take me a few games to find my feet, but I am very happy to be here and if we keep winning there will be no problem.” Dzeko has made an impressive introduction to City life. The 24-year-old might even have been able to celebrate a goal on his first appearance as a shot was deflected inches wide during the middle of the second-half spell when City did look like championship material.
Yet, not for the first time, it was skipper Carlos Tevez who the Blues had to thank for their triumph, scoring twice.
The first in particular was sensational, with even a gnarled ex-defender like Wolves boss Mick McCarthy acknowledging that the effort, bursting between two defenders before skipping inside Richard Stearman and finding the net with clinical ease, was one of those where you just have to “hold your hands up and say that was a great goal”.
Mancini was also impressed, not only by the goals but the combination play between Dzeko and Tevez, who started in a wide role on the left but moved into a more central slot as City struggled.
Yet the Italian was not entirely satisfied, even though he left the stadium knowing his team were top of the table once more, and for longer than the five hours they managed during the festive programme.
“At Christmas we were top for a few hours, now it is a day, or maybe a little bit longer. In the future maybe it will be for a long time,” he said.
“But I only have one heart and I hope it is strong because with a squad like ours we should control the game better when we are three ahead.
“In the last 10 minutes we thought the game was finished and lost our concentration. This cannot happen.” Mancini was referring to the late blow-out which nearly cost City their win.
Trailing to Nenad Milijas’ opener and lucky not to be further adrift, the Blues had hit back through Kolo Toure before the break before brother Yaya split the brace from Tevez that took him to 14 Premier League goals for the season.
Job done. Or at least it should have been. Instead, Kevin Doyle rifled home a penalty after Joleon Lescott had sent him tumbling, then Ronald Zubar headed home to set up a nerve-jangling ending, that included five minutes of stoppage time.
