Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta believes that teammate Carlos Tevez is back to his best after his match-winning performance against Aston Villa.

The 29-year-old's career at the Etihad looked to be over last season after an argument with manager Roberto Mancini resulted in him going AWOL for three months of the side's Premier League title-winning campaign.

However, the Argentine forward has returned to play a key role this year, and Zabaleta feels that it has been a long road back for Tevez.

"It's been difficult for Carlos, for Mancini, for the club. From something small, it grew so big," Zabaleta told the Daily Star. "After it happened, everything went crazy and it was so difficult.

"Everybody makes mistakes. The positive thing is Carlos came back again and the commitment for the club and team has been 100%, so that is well done by him.

"Is he as good as before? Yes, definitely. He got a fantastic goal against Chelsea and he's been great all season."

Tevez netted the only goal of the game on the stroke of half time to give City a 1-0 win at Villa Park on Monday.