Silva lining: Man City captain Carlos Tevez embraces David Silva after the Spain midfielder opened the scoring with his first goal for the clubThe adverts say it gives you wings, and in the Red Bull Arena David Silva finally earned his as a Manchester City player.
A stuttering start to life in England and concerns about his slight frame being suited to the physical demands of the Premier League have led some to wonder whether City had made the right decision in paying Valencia £24million for the Spain forward this summer.
But manager Roberto Mancini insisted on the eve of his side's opening Group A clash he had no doubts Silva was ready to deliver, and the World Cup winner took less than eight minutes to start proving him right as his first goal in a City shirt helped his club launch their Europa League campaign with a win in this picturesque Austrian city.
Deployed in a central attacking role behind Carlos Tevez and Jo, Silva was hovering on the edge of the penalty box when the latter tussled with defender Ibrahim Sekagya for Wayne Bridge's low cross and the ball broke loose 12 yards from goal.
The Spaniard did not hesitate even though it was on his weaker right foot, curling the ball wide of Gerhard Tremmel's dive.
And to complete a thoroughly satisfying night for Mancini, Jo - another player to whom he has recently given his backing - scored his first goal in two years to secure a deserved win.
Not everything went right for Silva, however. He was guilty of wasting another clear chance five minutes before half-time when Gareth Barry's incisive pass released Tevez who in turn set the Spaniard free on goal.
Net gains: David Silva (centre) took just eight minutes to break the deadlockOpting to cut back inside Franz Schiemer and on to his left foot, Silva saw his effort well saved by Tremmel.
But it was never going to be easy against a Salzburg side who won all their Europa League group ties home and away last season. All the more so after just one point from two games against Sunderland and Blackburn had dampened the early-season optimism at Eastlands.
Defeat here would hardly have constituted a crisis, but may have brought unwelcome pressure on Mancini and his players.
Sealing the deal: Jo made the most of a rare appearance in the starting line-up with City's secondJoe Hart was guilty of an uncharacteristic blunder in Saturday's draw against Blackburn, and Mancini felt it was wise to give the young England goalkeeper another run-out instead of turning to Shay Given for City's European games as some had expected.
Hart was confident enough to test out a paper plane that had been thrown his way from the home supporters at one stage in the first half, even though it was not always an entirely comfortable night for him.
As the Austrian champions grew in confidence after conceding the early goal, the City keeper looked a little uncertain dealing with Christian Schweiger's long throw-in and had a lucky escape at another set-piece when Sekagya met a corner from the right with a volley down into the turf which reared up over Hart and on to the top of his crossbar.
In the thick of it: Gareth Barry does his best to evade the advance of Salzburg's David Mendes da SilvaSalzburg, who are banned from using their Red Bull moniker in European competition even though the heavy branding around the stadium and presence of their bizarrely named mascot Bullidibumm left no-one in any doubt over who owns the club, were certainly not short on energy and almost equalised within two minutes of the restart.
Kolo Toure was booked for body checking Gonzalo Zarate on the edge of the area and Nikola Pokrivac's low free kick flew just wide of Hart's right-hand post, much to the frustration of the home supporters who thought it had crept in.
Helping hand: Joe Hart's blushes are spared after a Salzburg effort crashes off of the barCity seemed to heed the warning and added a crucial second goal after 63 minutes. Jo had not started a game since December 2008 and his last goal for City came two months before that.
But he was the fastest to react when Tremmel could only parry Tevez's fierce drive from the edge of the area and tucked the ball in from close-range.
It was a particularly rewarding moment for Mancini who kept the Brazilian striker this summer when other, higher profile players were allowed to leave, and only last week backed the club's one-time record signing to be a success.
Cut above: Tevez, sporting his new cropped haircut, keeps the ball away from Rabiu AfolabiMatch FactsSALZBURG (4-1-4-1): Tremmel 6; Schwegler 6, Sekagya 6, Afolabi 5, Svento 6; Schiemer 6; Zarate 7, Da Silva 5 (Augustinussen 74, 6), Leitgeb 6, Pokrivac 7 (Jantscher 55, 6); Boghossian
5 (Wallner 54, 6). Subs (not used): Walke, Dudic, Hierlander, Alan.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-2-1): Hart 6; Zabaleta 6, K Toure 6, Kompany 7, Bridge 6 (Boyata 68, 6); De Jong 8; Y Toure 6, Barry 7; Silva 7 (Wright-Phillips 84); Tevez 6 (Vieira 79, 6), Jo 6.
Subs (not used): Given, Richards, Milner, A Johnson. Booked: K Toure
Man of the match: De Jong
Referee: Georgios Daloukas 6 (Greece).
source: dailymail
