It rolled along the deck but seemingly took a nick off Silva and then Dawson before trickling into the net beyond a flat-footed Myhill.
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David Silva tormented the West Brom defense with his flair eventually assisting Vincent Kompany’s solid header goal from the left corner. Unsurprisingly given it was his debut he looked at times as though he was struggling to quite fit in or know where best to position himself. But the Baggies never looked like getting back into the match once they fell behind.
Darren Fletcher: Picked up a booking for a foul on Silva and failed to assert himself on the match.
Albion offered little resistance to City in the first half and it was over as a contest by the break.
No matter. The second goal came.
At 27 minutes, West Bromwich were given a chance with a free kick within 25 yards from goal, but new striker Rickie Lambert could only strike the ball above the crossbar and Joe Hart.
And there was a worrying sight for Albion late on when Berahino appeared to be moving gingerly and he was replaced by Callum McManaman. This summer was no different as Pep Guardiola’s name has been bandied about since the Spaniard has yet to sign an extension with Bayern Munich, and Jurgen Klopp is a man without a club as the German has taken a sabbatical following his departure from Dortmund.
Joleon Lescott appeared to be blocked inadvertently by James Morrison, allowing former City defensive partner Kompany to score at the near post with his shoulder. The captain was rarely beaten in the air and he rounded off a fine team display with the third goal.
One of Sterling’s colleagues at Anfield last season, Rickie Lambert, nearly marked his competitive Baggies bow in style with a brilliant free-kick which whistled agonisingly over. He won every challenge and was reliable throughout.
“It is important to have a difference with them at the start of the season because they are one of the five teams who have the most chance to win the title”.
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.
Though the midfield oozes quality, depth at forward behind Aguero may be a concern since both Stevan Jovetic (Inter Milan), Alvaro Negredo (Valencia) have already departed, and Edin Dzeko has passed his medical to join AS Roma. He was also a powerful figure in the heart of the midfield and the opposition couldn’t handle him. The game’s standout performer was David Silva.
But it is not all good news for City as they are set to play without midfielder Fabian Delph who suffered a hamstring injury in preseason and defender Gael Clichy who is being bothered by ankle woes. Wilfried Bony meanwhile played only 45 minutes in Germany. Provided the assist for Toure’s second goal and had a couple of decent efforts that nearly found the net.
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First goalscorer markets have, as expected, Sergio Aguero at the top of the betting and the 10-3 on offer isn’t a bad price given the Argentine’s outstanding record.
