Scoring his 50th and 51st Premier League goals, Yaya Touré demonstrated some of what Manchester City fans could miss next season at the weekend as City comfortably defeated Swansea.
The Ivorian, whose agent has recently told reporters his client is 90 per cent certain to leave the newly deposed champions, slotted home two typical goals to help win a game made to look more tense than it actually was when the Welshmen neutralised a two-goal City lead.
Manuel Pellegrini’s City ran out 4-2 winners, with Touré’s Ivory Coast teammate Wilfried Bony scoring their fourth against the team he left to go to Manchester earlier in the season.
Touré opened the scoring for City with a deflected effort that wrong-footed Lukasz Fabianski in the Swansea goal. Swansea pressed hard for an immediate response to keep alive their slim hope of Europa League qualification, but it was the Mancunians who struck again via a stylish strike from James Milner.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has impressed for the Swans all season, pulled one back just before half-time with a lovely strike, followed 19 minutes into the second half by an equaliser from the right boot of Bafétimbi Gomis.
But Touré eased City ahead again within ten minutes with a shot that went under the body of Fabianski, before substitute Bony took advantage of the gaps left in Swansea’s marauding defence to seal the win in injury time.
Bony’s goal was only his second for City since he left Swansea in the January transfer window, but his celebration was muted out of respect for his former employer’s fans, who gave their former striker a great welcome on his first return to the Liberty Stadium.
The result meant that fourth placed Manchester United would not be able to deny their city neighbours a top-three Premier League finish whatever the result later in the day at home to Arsenal. That eventually drawn game means Manchester City can only be overhauled by the Gunners for Premier League runners-up, and should be able to avoid this with a point in their final game. Arsenal, who have an FA Cup final to think about, would then need to overturn a goal difference deficit of eleven goals in their final two league games.
