Player ratings: Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City

Hart – Little chance with the goals. Claimed the ball well at set pieces and showed better early distribution than last season. 7

Richards – Both himself and Petrov looked to enjoy their duel. Unlucky to be adjudged to have fouled the Bulgarian prior to crossing for Aguero to score. 7

Kolarov – Looking a lot sharper than last season. Presumably selected for his greater physical strength against the Bolton attack, and justified his start. 7

Lescott – Was the man beaten in both goals conceded and Mancini wasn’t happy afterwards. In mitigation the first was a very sharp first time shot by Klasnic, while for the second Davies was always likely to win the odd header. 6

Kompany – Like Lescott, rarely enjoyed a comfortable afternoon against Davies and Klasnic. Stood up to the challenge well. 7

Barry – Brilliant goal and more than played his part with sharp, progressive passing. More dynamic than usual. 8

Milner – Like Silva, nominally stationed on the flank but roamed everywhere. Always looks to get us moving forward and caused a host of problems. 8

Silva (Zabaleta 89) – Another sumptuous display of passing and movement. Scored the opener and was a joy to watch. 9

Y Toure – Played a deeper role in the absence of de Jong and the biggest compliment we can give is that the dutchman wasn’t really missed. Yaya’s passing consistently found players in space and set up attacks. 8

Dzeko (Johnson 80) – Arguably his finest game since joining City. Looking a lot sharper this season as he promised. First time he’s looked integral to the side, rather than shoe-horned into it. 9

Aguero (Tevez 68) – After everything went right against Swansea this was back down to earth with two missed chances and a goal disallowed. There were still some good touches before Sergio tired in the second half. 7

Subs:

Tevez – He’s back, and looking typically hungry for goals. Whether he stays is yet to be seen, but if he does then it’s a big bonus. 7

Johnson – Sent over one devilish cross cum shot in a late cameo. 7

Zabaleta – Brought on to help close the game out and made a couple of useful contributions. 7

Man of the match: David Silva

Verdict: Manchester City 4 Swansea City 0
Verdict: Bolton Wanderers 2 Manchester City 3

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