Pablo Zabaleta is hopeful that Manchester City teammate Yaya Toure can rediscover his best form after grabbing his first goal of the season in Saturday's 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

The Ivorian put weeks worth of criticism over his performances behind him by opening the scoring on 82 minutes at Villa Park at the weekend.

The importance of that strike was not lost on Zabaleta, who feels that Toure - who bagged 20 Premier League goals last season - has taken the first step back to his free-scoring best.

"I think it was so important for him to score. I think he did a great goal. We all know how important Yaya is for the team. If he is on his best form, Yaya can do whatever he wants because he's just different class," he told Sky Sports News.

"Last season he was fantastic. He scored 20 goals and that for a midfielder is just incredible. I would like to see Yaya scoring more goals, 20 if possible.

"We need him back to his best form in terms of passing, even free kicks. We are 100% sure we will see the best of Yaya soon."

Toure has helped the Sky Blues to two Premier League titles and an FA Cup in his four-year spell with the club.