If anyone ever doubted David Silva’s value to the City team – hard to believe there could be anyone who would – his delicately lofted assist for Edin Dzeko’s winner against Spurs would surely have dispelled them.

Of course, we know there isn’t a City fan out there that doesn’t already know what the Spaniard brings to the table, but let’s pretend there is…

OPTA stats firmly underline David’s influence on the team and his return from injury at the weekend was like most of his passes - perfectly timed.

Silva has made 113 appearances for the Blues in total since his 2010 move from Valencia, but it is perhaps in the Premier League where he has become regarded as one of the best playmakers in World football.

The cold facts of Silva’s record make fascinating reading.

Of the 79 Premier League games he’s played so far, the Blues have won 70% with the Spaniard pulling the strings - but only 44% of the games he’s missed have ended in victory – an astonishing fact.

David Silva Celebrates

City also score more goals with David playing – 2.12 per game opposed to 1.50 without him. Maybe it is surprising that we also concede fewer with Silva in the team – 0.77 against 1.06% - but that is probably because the Blues enjoy more of the ball when the magician is in action.

If you also add more shots on target, more possession and more successful passes and it’s not hard to see why Roberto Mancini will almost always play Silva when he is fit.

The only thing City do less of when he starts is cross the ball into the box and we also win fewer tackles – but we can live with that!

In case you needed a reminder of the master in action…