On this day in 2011, Manchester City and Swansea City completed the opening-weekend fixtures as they went head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium with both teams having contrasting ambitions for the season ahead.
After ending the previous campaign in third place, Manchester City were ready to mount a sustained assault on the Premier League crown, while Swansea, fresh from their promotion from the Championship, were focused on trying to retain their top-flight status for longer than a year.
Roberto Mancini handed a City debut to Gael Clichy with fellow new signing Sergio Aguero waiting in the wings on the substitutes' bench, while Brendan Rodgers gave starts to summer acquisitions Michel Vorm, Steven Caulker and Danny Graham.
The opening stages of the match were evenly contested as Swansea quickly employed a patient passing game with which they would become closely associated during the year, and it was effective in frustrating City on their own patch.
Less than 20 minutes had passed by and Manchester City's fans were voicing their displeasure, but they were encouraged after David Silva's bending effort from the left was parried away for a corner by Vorm.
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Yaya Toure was the next to test Vorm but his fierce strike was held by the Dutch stopper, before Silva struck the crossbar from inside the penalty area after being found by Adam Johnson.
Swansea had switched to survival mode as they looked to reach the break on level terms, and they only just achieved their goal after Vorm was once again called into action to prevent two Toure efforts from finding the back of the net.
The second half began in the same vein as the first period ended, and it took just 12 minutes for City to finally breach Vorm's defences. Again, the Dutchman was able to stop a City shot, this time from Johnson, but he could only parry the ball into the path of Edin Dzeko, who tapped home from close range.
The opener was soon followed by the introduction of Aguero, who was given a rapturous reception on his opening appearance in a City shirt, and his first contribution was to see a shot tipped away from Vorm after he had sharply turned away from his marker.
However, nine minutes into his debut, the former Atletico Madrid man was on the scoresheet after meeting a Micah Richards delivery that had been whipped into the area for the Argentine to tap home at the back post.
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Two minutes later, City made it three, which was harsh on Swansea after they had held off the big spenders for much of the first hour. Aguero was the instigator, flicking the ball over the head of Vorm before doing superbly to hook the ball back into the middle for Silva to convert into an empty net.
Swansea offered a brief response through Scott Sinclair, who found Joe Hart equal to his low drive, but as the match entered injury time, Aguero completed a scintillating second-half display for his new side by netting his second of the night.
After receiving the ball on the edge of the area, the striker took a touch before lashing the ball into the corner from 25 yards, leaving Vorm helpless in the Swansea goal after he had fought valiantly to keep the score down throughout the 90 minutes.
City's comprehensive victory started what turned out to be the most memorable season in the history of the club as they won their first Premier League title when Dzeko and Aguero scored twice in added-on time against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season to edge out Manchester United on goal difference.
As for Swansea, they failed to score in their first four fixtures, but they responded to finish comfortably in 11th position, which was an achievement that resulted in Rodgers being installed as the new Liverpool boss at the end of the campaign.
Darren Plant
