City claim away victory against Salzburg
Roberto Mancini's Manchester City defeated Austrian side RB Salzburg on Thursday. Goals from new signing David Silva and striker
Joao Alves de Assis Silva earned the English club a 2–0 victory.
The Italian manager was especially pleased with the performance of £24million-man Silva, who scored his first goal for City and inspired much of the team's attacking play.
"He will be an important player for the future," Mancini said. "He is a strong player who played for Valencia in the Champions League for many years."
Silva took only eight minutes to make his mark on the game. Left-back Wayne Bridge latched on to a loose ball and sent a low cross into the area. Jo stretched to tap the ball in Silva's direction, who charged into the box from midfield and placed the ball
to the right of Gerhard Tremmel, who could have done better.
Salzburg fought back after Silva's goal, with captain Ibrahim Sekagya heading into the ground and onto Joe Hart's cross-bar from a corner in the 30th minute.
City waited until the 39th minute to come close again, as Carlos Tevez set up Silva for another shot, but this time Tremmel managed to reach it, tipping the Spaniard's high effort over the bar.
Not long after Silva's attempt, Jo sent a curled finish at the Salzburg goal from the edge of the box, but once again Tremmel was in control.
Three minutes into the second half, Nikola Pokrivac hit a low free kick just wide of Hart's goal. The Austrians failed to create further chances, though, as their passing turned sloppy and was often caught out by the City defence.
Jo converts Tevez' rebound
In a rare moment of action, the lively Tevez received a short pass from Silva outside the box with 63 minutes played. The Argentine found space for a shot that Tremmel managed to palm away, but only into the path of Jo, who slotted home the rebound from
the left for his first goal of the season.
With Mancini happy to have his team protect the lead, Tevez was taken off for Patrick Vieira as City secured the midfield. With Vieira, Gareth Barry, Nigel de Jong and Yaya Toure all on the field, the Austrians had only a minimal chance of penetrating their
opponents.
Juventus visit the Reebok Stadium in two weeks' time in a thrilling encounter between the two strongest teams in Group A.
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