Sunday 20 November 2016 08:04, UK
Pep Guardiola thinks Yaya Toure can be like a new player for Manchester City after his double helped them to a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
Toure's only previous first-team appearance for City under Guardiola came in their 1-0 Champions League defeat of Steaua Bucharest on August 24.
The Ivory Coast international found himself on the sidelines after his agent Dimitri Seluk had been vocal in his criticism of Guardiola, who he said had "humiliated" Toure by omitting him from their Champions League squad.
But the 33-year-old apologised for "misunderstandings of the past" and Guardiola handed him an unexpected start at Selhurst Park.
And the Spaniard was rewarded as Toure's goals inspired City to all three points.
When asked about Toure's performance, Guardiola told Sky Sports: "Of course for the two goals [he was good] but it [Toure's performance] was more than that.
"Nobody has doubts about his quality.The last month and a half he's trained and his physical condition has improved.
"His weight is now perfect. When he arrived he was not like this but now he's like a young guy. Of course we have a new player now to help us achieve our targets. I'm so happy for him and for his family."
Toure opened the scoring in the 39th minute before Connor Wickham equalised for the hosts in the second-half.
With the game heading towards a draw, Toure, who was described as a "gift" by Guardiola, popped up in the 83rd minute to tap home from close range to secure victory and move City level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
"Yaya is an important part of this club," Guardiola said. "He is so so important. In the years the club won the Premier League he was a huge personality and his team-mates appreciate him a lot.
"For me it's a gift because we have another player to compete in the squad.
"When we have games every three games you need to rotate the team. In this league it is intense because every team fights and fights and fights. We need all the players and Yaya is one of them."
Captain Vincent Kompany also returned to City's starting line-up but the defender only last 38 minutes after colliding with his own goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
The Belgium international suffered a nasty looking blow to the head and was replaced by Pablo Zabaleta, but Guardiola is hopeful the injury is not too bad.
"Hopefully it won't be dangerous," he said. "He received a kick in his head so we have to be careful. He's going for observation now so hopefully it won't be too bad."
