Yaya Toure had been under fire for his performances to open the Premier League season, but now that he notched the late game-opening goal in Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa, the 32-year-old Ivorian was able to display his dynamism that City has utilized in the past.
Toure was given a pocket of space just outside the penalty area, and he stepped up to deliver a seething, low shot that whipped past American goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
“I think it was amazing,” Toure told Sky Sports, speaking about his strike. “If it was not me it would have been Aguero or Silva.”
If he wants to keep his performances consistent, the midfielder said that he must retain his active level of play and build off of his goal-scoring feat. On the positive end, it’s easier to perform consistently well when surrounded by skillful footballers, and City is abundant with those men, Toure admits.
“The most important thing is for me to do my best. I’m keeping going: I play for a top side in Europe. And I’ll just do my best to win things again this season. It’s not so easy because you have to play every three days. I’m not a machine, I’m a man, but it’s important to keep things going.
“I have great team-mates around me, and the most important thing is to do my best. I think today was a great victory for us, because it was against a great team working very hard.”
Manchester City will get back to Premier League action two weeks from now against Tottenham before facing CSKA Moscow in Champions League play on Oct. 21.