Often praised by manager Roberto Mancini for his ability to fill so many roles, the giant Ivory Coast midfielder struck off a Carlos Tevez pass on 16 minutes at Eastlands.
There were French Ligue 1 goals from Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Burkinabe Alain Traore, Moroccan Younes Belhanda and Malian Mahamane Traore while Tunisian Karim Haggui netted for Bundesliga outfit Hanover.
ENGLAND
YAYA TOURE (Man City)
The Ivory Coast midfielder scored his first Premier League goal of the season to help the champions beat QPR 3-1 at home. Toure, who also scored in the Community Shield win over Chelsea, opened the scoring with a firm finish from Carlos Tevez's pass in the 16th minute. He also played a role in City's third goal with the pass to Edin Dzeko that led to Tevez's deflected strike.
PETER ODEMWINGIE (West Brom)
The Nigeria striker played a crucial part in his side's 2-0 win over Everton as he came off the bench to lay on the first goal at the Hawthorns. Albion were struggling to break down Everton's defence until boss Steve Clarke sent on Odemwingie in the 57th minute. Within eight minutes Albion were ahead as Odemwingie surged away and clipped a clever low cross to Shane Long, who tapped in from close range.
STEVEN PIENAAR (Everton)
The South Africa midfielder slammed his own performance after David Moyes' side crashed to a lacklustre 2-0 defeat at West Brom. Pienaar, who rejoined Everton from Tottenham in pre-season, had started the campaign in good form, but was below par at the Hawthorns and apologised to the club's fans in brutally honest fashion. "My worst game in a Everton shirt. Sorry guys," he tweeted after the final whistle.
EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR (Tottenam)
The Togo striker was unable to inspire his team's first win of the season after coming off the bench in the second half of a 1-1 draw with Norwich. Adebayor, a 56th-minute replacement for Gylfi Sigurdsson, saw Spurs take the lead, but Robert Snodgrass equalised five minutes from time.
PAPISS DEMBA CISSE (Newcastle)
The Senegal striker is still waiting for his first goal of the season after failing to break his duck in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at St James' Park. Cisse was the star of Newcastle's impressive campaign last season, scoring 13 goals in 18 appearances, but has found it hard to replicate that prolific form this term. The closest he came against Villa was a powerful first-half effort that flashed just wide.
FRANCE
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Saint-Etienne)
The 23-year-old Gabon international underlined his credentials as one of the most exciting attackers in the French game with a spectacular acrobatic finish for Saint-Etienne's second goal in a 3-0 win at Bastia. After scoring 16 Ligue 1 goals last season, the son of former Gabon star Pierre Aubameyang already has three this campaign.
ALAIN TRAORE (Lorient)
The hBurkina Faso midfielder rose to prominence with Auxerre last season, and has continued to impress since moving to Lorient. The 24-year-old, who had a trial with Manchester United as a teenager, missed a penalty in the first half of Lorient's home clash with Nancy. However, he made up for that in some style by netting with a stunning free-kick late on to seal a 3-0 win.
YOUNES BELHANDA (Montpellier)
Morocco playmaker Belhanda has struggled to rediscover the form he showed last season in a beginning to the campaign marred by suspension and injury. However, it was his early penalty conversion that set the champions on their way to an overdue first win of the season, 3-1 at Sochaux.
MAHAMANE TRAORE (Nice)
Mali international Traore has been a Nice player since 2005, but spent the last two seasons on loan to struggling second division outfit Metz. Despite not having played a Ligue 1 game since May 2010, he was given another chance to prove himself in the top flight at the start of this season by new Nice coach Claude Puel and has already become a mainstay in the side. He was also his team's hero at Bordeaux, scoring a last-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw.
GERMANY
KARIM HAGGUI (Hanover 96)
The Tunisia defender opened the scoring in Hanover's 4-0 rout of VfL Wolfsburg. Haggui scored with a header after only 10 minutes having been left unmarked at a corner before Poland striker Artur Sobiech then scored the first of his two goals while Denmark's Leon Andreasen also netted.
ARTHUR BOKA (VfB Stuttgart)
Ivory Coast's defender produced a superb free-kick which Austrian striker Martin Harnik volleyed home on 25 minutes as guests Stuttgart took a shock lead at Bayern Munich's sold-out Allianz Arena in front of 71,000 spectators. The hosts hit back with six goals as Germany midfielder Thomas Mueller netted twice to floor Stuttgart 6-1 in the south Germany derby.
ITALY
KEVIN PRINCE BOATENG (AC Milan)
Boateng proved a handful for Bologna's defence throughout a match which the the visitors won 3-1 thanks in large part to the hat-trick of Giampaolo Pazzini. His feisty display won Milan free kicks early on, but the Germany-born Ghanaian was twice off target with the efforts. He later suffered a fracture in his right hand, which is to be operated on Monday.
KWADWO ASAMOAH (Juventus)
After Ghana midfielder Asamoah's display for Juve, he could make a regular starting place his. Physically strong and good at holding up the ball while his strikers get in position, he proved a handful for his former Udinese teammates as the Old Lady won 4-1 away. Asamoah provided the square ball for Montenegrin teammate Marko Vucinic to score Juve's second of the night on the stroke of half-time.
SPAIN
ALEX SONG (Barcelona)
The Cameroonian was brought in this summer by Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova to boost his defensive options with Song able to play as a defensive midfielder and at centre-back. He made his debut coming on in the domestic Super Cup defeat against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last week and started in the 1-0 victory over Valencia. Playing alongside Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez, he adapted quickly to Barca's short passing game and was effective in breaking up attacks.
CHRISTIAN ROMARIC (Zaragoza)
The Ivory Coast midfielder has been used sparingly by coach Manolo Jimenez since his summer transfer from Sevilla and Romaric failed to make the most of an excellent chance in the first half against Malaga which proved costly with the team losing 1-0. Romaric had a fine early strike well saved by goalkeeper Willy Caballero but with 20 minutes gone, he shot wide with the goal glaring. It was a frustrating game for him and he was taken off with half an hour to go.
Source: AFP
Source: AFP