Manchester City’s Yaya Toure made a triumphant return to the first team in their 2-1 away win over Crystal Palace. In his first Premier League appearance this season, he scored a brace to lift City to second place in the Premier League table.
Yaya had been banished from the first team after his agent, Dmitri Seluk berated Pep Guardiola for leaving Toure out of the Champions League squad. Toure has since apologized to his manager and the club and two weeks after, he made his surprise first team return.
The 33-year old Ivorian told reporters just after the match on Saturday, “I was prepared mentally and I knew that one day my manager would need me.
“I was delighted to play and I am very happy to be playing football.”
“My team-mates are very important to me,” added Toure. “They have always been brilliant with me, always supportive.
“I always want to be there to help them. I am professional, I always want to improve my game.”
Guardiola also expressed satisfaction with Toure’s performance in his post-match conference.
“The last month and a half, Yaya was amazing in training,” Guardiola explained. “His behavior is absolutely everything.
“His team-mates love him. He is going to help us to rotate the team, we need that.
“I am so happy for Yaya, he is a really nice guy. His weight is perfect now, and there are no doubts about his quality.