Manchester City moved four points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in the race for Champions League qualification with a 1-0 over Blackburn Rovers on Monday.Substitute Edin Dzeko got the only goal - his first in the league for City - with 15 minutes remaining.
"I'm very happy that this goal helped my team to win the game," he said.
"Sometimes it's difficult, I'm not the first who didn't make the best start but I'm happy because I scored today and helped the team."
City manager Roberto Mancini was delighted with the result and, particularly, the goalscorer. "I'm very happy for Edin because he deserves to score, he is a good player and a good man," he said.
"In the first half we played a fantastic game, we should have scored two goals minimum. In the second half the game changed, Blackburn played very strong and hard."
It was Blackburn's 11th game without a win, leaving them deep in relegation trouble, just a point above the drop zone.
After a largely forgettable game, the breakthrough came after 75 minutes, David Silva's cross breaking off defender Phil Jones for Dzeko to sweep in.
Blackburn protested that Mario Balotelli, who started up front in the absence of the injured Carlos Tevez, was in an offside position, but he was deemed not to be interfering with play despite seemingly being in goalkeeper Paul Robinson's eyeline.
"We're bitterly disappointed, we gave it a right go," said Rovers boss Steve Kean.
"After the first 15 minutes we got to grips in midfield and were in the ascendancy before half-time. Even in the second half we were excellent."
He remains confident that his side will not go down. "We feel as a group if we play like that against Bolton on Saturday we can get a win, never mind a draw," he said.
"We're gutted we didn't get anything tonight but if we play like that, we've got a great chance."
City were rarely threatened, but struggled for fluency, the link- up between Adam Johnson, David Silva and Balotelli failed to gel, raising concerns for City before next months FA Cup final.
Dzeko joined City for 27 million pounds (44.5 million dollars) from Wolfsburg in January and had failed to break his duck in six previous starts.
Fernando Torres also got off the mark after a big January move at the weekend.
"It's football, Torres scored a lot of goals at Liverpool and changed club, I'm happy for him too because I know what the pressure is," said Dzeko.
"Now we have to look at the future - today was very good, it is a new beginning for me and for City."
"I'm very happy that this goal helped my team to win the game," he said.
"Sometimes it's difficult, I'm not the first who didn't make the best start but I'm happy because I scored today and helped the team."
City manager Roberto Mancini was delighted with the result and, particularly, the goalscorer. "I'm very happy for Edin because he deserves to score, he is a good player and a good man," he said.
"In the first half we played a fantastic game, we should have scored two goals minimum. In the second half the game changed, Blackburn played very strong and hard."
It was Blackburn's 11th game without a win, leaving them deep in relegation trouble, just a point above the drop zone.
After a largely forgettable game, the breakthrough came after 75 minutes, David Silva's cross breaking off defender Phil Jones for Dzeko to sweep in.
Blackburn protested that Mario Balotelli, who started up front in the absence of the injured Carlos Tevez, was in an offside position, but he was deemed not to be interfering with play despite seemingly being in goalkeeper Paul Robinson's eyeline.
"We're bitterly disappointed, we gave it a right go," said Rovers boss Steve Kean.
"After the first 15 minutes we got to grips in midfield and were in the ascendancy before half-time. Even in the second half we were excellent."
He remains confident that his side will not go down. "We feel as a group if we play like that against Bolton on Saturday we can get a win, never mind a draw," he said.
"We're gutted we didn't get anything tonight but if we play like that, we've got a great chance."
City were rarely threatened, but struggled for fluency, the link- up between Adam Johnson, David Silva and Balotelli failed to gel, raising concerns for City before next months FA Cup final.
Dzeko joined City for 27 million pounds (44.5 million dollars) from Wolfsburg in January and had failed to break his duck in six previous starts.
Fernando Torres also got off the mark after a big January move at the weekend.
"It's football, Torres scored a lot of goals at Liverpool and changed club, I'm happy for him too because I know what the pressure is," said Dzeko.
"Now we have to look at the future - today was very good, it is a new beginning for me and for City."
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