Yaya Toure happy at Carlos Tevez's return to Manchester City action

Yaya Toure is happy to welcome Carlos Tevez back into the Manchester City fold.

City scored 93 times on their way to a first title in 44 years last term, and that was without Tevez for half a season after he went AWOL following his well-publicised spat with Mancini in Munich.

He looked good at Villa Park on Sunday though.

The impish manner he drove across the Chelsea box, beating David Luiz and John Terry, before changing direction to hammer a right-footed shot beyond Petr Cech was a reminder of his early performances at City.

For some, the stain on his character from last year's sorry events can never be removed.

Thankfully for Tevez, his team-mates do not share that view.

"Of course (the players like him)," said Toure.

"He is a fantastic guy and a fantastic professional.

"He made a mistake. But the most important thing when you make a mistake you have to apologise. He apologised to everyone.

"Now he has come back and wants to show he will give everything for the team."

Toure is confident City will reap the benefits of Tevez's partnership with Sergio Aguero.

Toure said: "They have played for Argentina before. Now they play for Manchester City.

"I am sure they will score a lot of goals for the club."

Even without the addition of Robin van Persie, City's striking power is enough to cause Premier League defences huge headaches.

Edin Dzeko was on the bench at Villa Park, whilst Mario Balotelli, fresh from his outstanding performances at Euro 2012, was in the stand.

With Toure and Samir Nasri both capable of finding the net, as they did on Sunday, and David Silva being eased back after a late return to pre-season training, the Blues have resources that could see them become the first side to hit a century of goals in a Premier League season.

"We have some fantastic strikers," said Toure.

"They are so sharp and clever. We put Carlos and Aguero there against Chelsea but it could have been Dzeko or Mario.

"The most important thing is that no matter what team the boss picks, it plays well."

PA