The City fans came to worship at the court of the new King, Sergio Aguero. But they left thrilled by the performance of a man who a few months ago was being written off as another expensive Blue flop.
Luckily, Roberto Mancini knew the truth of the matter. Edin Dzeko was not the slow, goal-shy unconfident hulk as portrayed by some sections of an impatient media.
He was a player who needed time to settle into the Premier League, having been dropped into it mid-season.
Dzeko showed glimpses of his true ability last season, for those prepared to see it, and was adamant that he would be a different player come this season.
How right he was and how right was Mancini to show faith in him.
The fans also kept believing, singing Dzeko’s name at every opportunity – and that support has meant a huge amount to the player and helped him to settle into the team.
The big Bosnian might easily have made all the headlines against Swansea last week, had it not been for the stunning substitute appearance of Aguero.
Dzeko had scored the opener and been the pivot of a fluent City attack in that game.
He reprised that display here, scored again – for the fourth match in succession including the Community Shield and the prestige friendly against Inter Milan – and then improved on it.
On this evidence, he is a striker with everything – height, physical presence, deft touch, awareness, good feet and a real goal threat.
The challenge for Carlos Tevez, who made his return to action as a substitute, is to shift Dzeko from the team because the attack functions around the ex-Wolfsburg man.
Aguero made his first start for the Blues following his remarkable half-hour debut last week while James Milner stepped in to replace Nigel de Jong, whose bruised foot – an injury sustained against Swansea last week – was worse than feared.
That was a bad omen for City. Out of the seven league games in which the tigerish Dutchman was missing last season, the Blues only won one and lost four.
But being able to cope without influential players is the big test for Mancini’s men this season and James Milner has been bursting to show what he can do in a central midfield position.
With Yaya Toure withdrawn into the deep-lying role, Milner put in an energetic display which, combined with Gareth Barry’s physical attributes and ever-willing attitude, laid the platform for a good half.
City had to match Bolton’s muscular approach but they have the personnel to do that these days and Kevin Davies seemed to enjoy the confrontation.
He and Joleon Lescott had a titanic battle but it was City who provided the guile and pace at the other end, led by Dzeko and prompted by the genius of Silva.
Those two were instrumental in City’s best work. Dzeko has sharpened up from the gangling, slightly ungainly figure of last season and is now a tight and tricky target man as well as an imposing physical specimen.
Bolton were the first to show, a Chris Eagles free kick being spilled by Joe Hart, with Lescott on hand to clear the danger.
The home side continued to press, hoping to take advantage of what is becoming a traditionally slow City start.
Zat Knight got his angles wrong when the ball fell to him from a corner, slicing wide with Hart exposed.
But once the Blues clicked into gear, they were clearly a couple of classes above bushy-tailed Bolton.
The first sign of the tide turning came as the Blues attacked with width and purpose down the left, Silva feeding the overlapping Aleksandar Kolarov, whose cross found Milner sliding in but Jussi Jaaskelainen smothered the shot.
Dzeko was the pivotal figure, winning balls in the air against Gary Cahill but looking even better on the deck.
Seemingly stranded without support on the right edge of the area, the big man somehow threaded a cross to Aguero who showed he is only human with a wild yahoo over the bar.
But the Blues were thankful for human weakness on 26 minutes when the marauding Silva was found on the edge of the Bolton box by Micah Richards.
Faced with a wall of defenders, the Spaniard let fly with a hopeful shot arrowing straight at the big Finn.
It skipped off the turf just in front of the keeper but has to go down as a goalkeeping error as the ball darted into the net.
Dzeko again showed signs of his awareness of Aguero’s habits, this time pulling wide on the left.
The little Argentine had nipped into a gap between two defenders and Dzeko’s cross found him perfectly only for his free header to sail over the bar.
The second goal came from an unlikely source. With bodies piling into the box for Milner’s corner, he pulled it back to the edge of the box and Barry took a touch before smashing a great goal beyond Jaaskelainen. No need for luck this time.
But Bolton don’t lie down at the Reebok and within two minutes they were back in it.
Martin Petrov had been having a friendly old battle with former team-mate Richards and when he flashed in a cross from the left, Ivan Klasnic reacted quicker than Lescott and swept the ball home.
The next goal was sure to be important and it was City who grabbed it – and that man Dzeko who scored it, a fitting reward for his hard work.
He pounced on Knight’s half-hearted back-pass and thrashed a volley past Jaaskelainen.
That was a cue for City to open up the game and play some gorgeous stuff. Dzeko was again at the heart of it, all subtle flicks, smart hold-up and sweeping passes and, with Silva and Aguero darting round and about, and Barry and Milner joining in to great effect, it was irresistible stuff.
Kolarov joined in the fun too, raiding down the left to give the Blues another dimension and rip another gaping hole in Bolton’s ragged defence.
But Owen Coyle’s side are no pushovers and they again hauled themselves back into contention in typical fashion. Petrov chipped a free kick into the box and Davies rose above Lescott to guide his header home.
The time for festival football was now over for City and they had to dig deep to prevent this game, under control for so long, from slipping away.
Tevez arrived to give Bolton something else to think about, and Adam Johnson was another sub as City sought to regain their attacking impetus.
Adam Johnson almost sealed it, skipping effortlessly past Knight and firing a cross-cum-shot across the face of the goal.
Two tired teams both went in search of the vital sixth goal but it didn’t happen and City were happy to get the three points and claim top spot in the formative table.
What did you make of City's win at Bolton? Have your say
Bolton 2 Manchester City 3
August 21, 2011
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Good three points, well played Bolton. Have to say Dzeko was brilliant again today
Some scintillating football by City .... deserved to score more but that will come.
Got what we expected from Bolton who are going to be dangerous against anyone.
Coyle gets the best out of what he has and we cannot blame him for that.
Mancini needs to settle that back four, but not many teams in the league with a better
aerial assault than Bolton!
Silva - the best player in the Prem? Discuss. Might need to reign it in a bit away from home. Richards had no cover in front of him today. Going forward unstoppable. Mario hasnt even played yet. Add Nasri & it's hard to imagine anyone stopping us. Mancini out-standing.
Great game of football. Bolton were not at all easy tp beat - but beat them we did. Dzeko again claimed his place and Silva had another great game. However MoM for me was Milner. Apart from the messed up free kick, he didn't put a foot wrong and made some passes that if they'd been by Silva/Aguero the TV pundits would have been purring about them. Barry also had a strong game. If Nasri comes, I think Yaya will find himself having to step up a lot if he wants to keep his place.
Great to have such competition for places!
Good performance! Pity for the two goals. I sincerely think we are losing Mario Balotelli lads. What do you think about it?
Hard fought win although the score was closer than the game IMO. We had to stand up to their physical assault although they did play some good football and Rigsby looked very lively for them on the left. Good cross for their first goal.
Kun should have two in the first half and will be disappointed he failed to score...just wasn't his day. Dzeko looked even better than against Swansea and i was surprised he was taken off considering we were defending a one goal lead and we knew they would go long ball as the clock ticked down. Nicely taken goal.
Mention for Gareth Barry today...not just his goal but his passing was superb and hardly gave it away all game. Milner also ran his socks off...just a bit more quality in the final third and he would be a starter regularly. Kolarov did very well and got forward to good effect. Solid defensively too.
Tevez looked rusty and there were a few boos understandbly I guess but he still worked very hard for the cause.
Anyone else think Kompany isn't hitting the heights of last season so far. Diving in a bit too much for my liking and too many petty arguments with the ref.
Silva still our standout player - sublime skill and adding goals to his game. Almost the complete player.
I don't think Bolton will lose many at the Reebook this season so this was a very important win and keeps us moving forward.
great win, some very good performances. but lescott needs to sort his marking out. didn't look to clever....
Guys...I told you about Dzeko but there have still been so many comments such as "he has a bad first touch", "he is too slow", "he is a donkey" etc...but if you really watched him in the German league you would know that he is brilliant at bringing other players into play and still gets more than his fair share of goals. My hope is that he will create a triumvirate with Aguero and Tevez supported by Silva to fire us to the title. The fact that he is also such a nice guy and always talks about "his team" should tell you what you want to know. Let's support Dzeko this season.
Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!! Can you please, please, please do a match report without mentioning that bunch for once in your lives! Pathetic!
Well done my blues. Dzeko - thank you for proving me so right!
Happy days :-)
This game showed that Bolton are a very good side and we are a terrific team..Quality all over the pitch.
Yet another boring 1-0!
Seriously I'd forget all about Nasri and look for cover for NDJ their second goal probably wouldn't have happened if he'd been fit.
Onwards and upwards only 36 to go!
City let Bolton off the hook. It should have been 0-5 at half time. Aguero should have scored 3, he missed 2 good chances and that ponce Petrov collapsed in the area and the ref bought it and cancelled the goal. Aguero will score lots of goals for the blues but today he came crashing back to earth after his amazing debut. All strikers miss chances and today it was his turn. So from being buried Bolton had the chance to make a game of it. Silva was again man of the match with Dzeko not far behind and Milner was good too.
Brilliant team performance and already you can see then benefit of the players having a season together. Passing and movement top class, better than anything i saw yesterday from the other teams - ok we lost concentration on a set piece and made it nervy at the end but i was so impressed with our quality today. Maybe we should have been more ruthless and put it out of sight but the fact that we've had about 45 genuine attempts on goal, mostly with well worked build up play, in 2 games says it all. We have definatly stepped up a level.
MOM Dzeko/Silva, cant separate them. Lescott was also fantastic and we were also missing a key midfielder in De-Jong. Kun looking sharp again and already up to pace with the Prem, although he should have scored twice but the fact is he is finding the space and making the right runs - so encouraging. Great support from the fans as well, but for that lapse in concentration for their second goal i think i would have counted that as one of the best performances ive seen...............
Congratulations to Bolton and City for putting on an enthralling game of football for the neutral (even though I did my money!).
Excellent again we're the most exciting team in the league and we're top say no more
sat there chewing the ends off my fingers for the last 10 minutes when i really shouldnt of had to, a bit more clinical and it could of been a walk in the park.Silva was breath taking but i think Dzeko ran him close,well done boys thouroughly deserved over the 90 minutes.
It's always good to win. But, my, do Bolton look limited. I can see them really struggling this season.
Great win! Top of the Prem. I predicted 3-0 but never expected Bolton to score 2 goals.
We are where we belong!
not much to say ..good win and looking good......just wanted to beat all the reds onto our site
3 points, move on eh? Thought the ref let some of their bad tackles slide. 6 points, happy days.
That was a great game to watch and 3 points against a physical Bolton at their ground was a great result. Dzeko is looking very good and this will be doing his confidence no harm at all. I think Aguero should have been on the bench again and come on in the second half. No clean sheet, not a big deal today in the end because we got the points but we have to tighten up for Spurs. Great start to the campaign, very happy to establish top spot in the early days, it plants the seed in the players psyche.
Another great, flowing performance! Anyone that doesn't accept City are real title contenders are either stupid, or a rag!
Who is this Dzeko guy?
Sure I didn't remember the same guy last season!
Top class performance against a very tough, physical side who showed remarkable fitness levels and a good eye for goal.
This City team are actually disappointing me when they don't bag 4 now!
David Silva was absolutely superb and its great to see him getting amongst the goals.
Thought Milner had a really good game as well - showing good power and running.
Think it also suits Barry's game a little more when he's let off the leash a little and allowed to get about the opposition higher up the pitch.
Get in!!! Top of the League & now we have a position to defend!
This Bolton team will cause a lot of teams a lot of problems
Overall pleased with performance. Should have been at least 3 up before we gave Bolton a sniff. Entertaining match. It may be nit picking but I thought Lescott should have done better with the 2 goals we conceded. Aguero missed two sitters. But we created a hatful of chances again so got to be satisfied with the 3 points. Sterner tests are to come.
Good to start the season with 2 wins.