Manchester City midfielder Yaya Touré insisted he is ‘not a machine’ after silencing his critics with his first goal of the season against Aston Villa.
The Ivorian has received his fair share of flack this season but grabbed the first of City’s two goals against Villa.
The midfielder was City’s top Premier League goalscorer with 20, but has struggled to find the net so far this term.
After finally hitting the net against a stubborn Villa side on Saturday, Touré insisted his main focus was making sure his teammates played well as a unit.
“Sometimes people forget I’m a midfielder and that my job is not to score all the goals,” Touré said. “My job is to try to keep the team playing well, make a good pass, and if I am fortunate enough to score, that is fantastic.
“I know there is criticism, but for me, it doesn’t matter. If they want they can continue. I’m not a machine, I’m a man.
“Last year was quite open for me. I played in a good position and I was quite lucky, I was getting free-kicks. Now the criticism has started coming because I am not scoring.
“For me, not scoring is pretty normal because I play in midfield.”
The current champions faced a dogged Villa on Saturday evening and managed just seven shots on target out of their 27 attempts.
After a first-half dominated by City, Villa showed a greater desire after half-time and they looked set to grab a point after tirelessly chasing down Pellegrini’s men.
However, Touré struck in the 82nd minute with a composed left-footed finish, with Sergio Aguero securing the win six minutes later having missed a sitter earlier in the half.
Teammate Pablo Zabaleta is confident Toure can now push on and each the dizzy heights of last season.
The Argentinian said: “I think it was so important for him to score. I think he did a great goal.
“We all know how important Yaya is for the team. If he is on his best form, Yaya can do whatever he wants because he’s just different class. We are at our best when Yaya is at his best.
“Last season he was fantastic. He scored 20 goals and that for a midfielder is just incredible. I would like to see Yaya scoring more goals, 20 if possible.
“We need him back to his best form in terms of passing, even free-kicks. We are 100 per cent sure we will see the best of Yaya soon.
“He should be full of confidence because we know how important he is for the team, as do the fans. And hopefully he can continue scoring goals like this.”
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