LONDON: Edin Dzeko has found his ideal role though it may not be one he appreciates, particularly.
Every player wants to start every game but the Bosnian’s greatest value to Premier champions Manchester City is as a ‘supersub.’ Last season Dzeko was City’s second-top scorer with 14 goals but by far the most important was the equaliser in the last-game, comeback victory over QPR which turned City from title pursuers into champions.
He was at it again this weekend at West Bromwich. With time running out City were 1:0 behind and down to 10 men after the early expulsion of James Milner, the England midfielder’s first red card in 409 top-level games. Eleven minutes remained when manager Roberto Mancini sent on Dzeko in place of midfielder Gareth Barry.
Dzeko then struck twice to turn the game around, including the winner two minutes into stoppage time.
His first goal was a header to a Carlos Tevez free kick little more than a minute after his arrival then he grabbed the winner on a Sergio Aguero assist on the counter-attack.
Assistant manager David Platt, explaining City’s revivalist abilities, said: “People talk about us having a lot of expensive players but there is also a lot of spirit here. You don’t win titles without the spirit we showed last year and it was there again.”
Personified in Edin Dzeko.
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