Roberto Mancini hailed Edin Džeko as ‘one of the best in Europe’ after the Manchester City striker fired himself into contention for an FA Cup final start, reports Daily Mail.
The Bosnian, who was making just his 15th start of the Barclays Premier League campaign, scored the only goal of the game as City saw off West Brom at the Etihad Stadium. The result means City are now guaranteed a place in next season’ s Champions League group stage, as they cannot finish any lower than third.
Džeko led the line with purpose and power and took his goal well, sweeping home Carlos Tevez’s cross in the 35th minute after good work by Jack Rodwell, and his performance certainly gave Mancini food for thought ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Wigan.
Though Džeko has been frustrated at the lack of chances he has been given this year, Mancini says he does not want to offload him in the summer as he believes the 27-year-old – who is City’s leading scorer in the Premier League with 13 – can improve further.
‘Edin could start,’ said Mancini, when asked if Džeko was in line to figure at Wembley. ‘I am happy for him; he scored an important goal. We are in the Champions League. It was good because we now have (some) days to recover before the final.
‘He has scored important goals this season. He can do better but I think he is one of the best in Europe. But I also think that he can still do better. For me he is one of the best. He needs to work hard because of his body, he needs to work and play games. But he has scored an important goal.’
