Manchester C 4 Swansea City 0:MANCHESTER CITY are off and running and, in the process, the seemingly ceaseless issues surrounding Carlos Tevez no longer seem quite so important. Roberto Mancini's team were rampant throughout the second half and, as debuts go, it is difficult to think Sergio Aguero could have done much more to ingratiate himself with his new supporters.

Aguero was introduced shortly after Edin Dzeko had opened the scoring against a Swansea City side who outpassed their opponents for the first half an hour before fading badly. Within nine minutes the Argentinian had made it 2-0. Still not satisfied, he then created the third for David Silva but the best was yet to come and the 30-yard shot for the fourth goal was the moment he fully announced his arrival in English football. It was a mesmerising goal.

By the end Swansea were grateful to hear the final whistle but it was easy as well to sympathise with the beaten side and they can be encouraged, at the very least, from the way they dominated the opening half an hour.

Swansea made it clear from the start there was going to be no hint of stagefright. They passed the ball with confidence, every outfield player happy to take possession, and for long periods there was the clear sense of a group of players with the shared ambition of demonstrating that they are better equipped to stay in this league than many people imagine.

The team returning to the top division for the first time since 1983 were the better side by some margin early on – and these were anxious moments for their hosts. Passes went astray, the crowd became restless. It felt very little like one team with aspirations of winning the league versus another who are heavily tipped to return to the Championship.

Yet, for all their neat, attractive football Swansea were seldom really a genuine threat to the home defence. Brendan Rodgers has assembled a side that is capable of keeping the ball under pressure and they will win many admirers this season, but he may yet have to impress on his team that, when they are on top, it is crucial that they make it count.

While Swansea had more of the ball in the opening 45 minutes, the better chances actually fell to their opponents. Mancini’s team took a long while to get going but they did, in fairness, have the resolve to recover from a worrying start, and Swansea’s goal was subjected to some concerted pressure in the closing stages of the first half.

Adam Johnson, chosen ahead of Mario Balotelli, worried the Swansea defence. But Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm, a €2 million signing from FC Utrecht, had an inspired 15-minute period when he kept out everything and Swansea had a little bit of luck, too. When Gareth Barry slashed a left-foot effort through a congested penalty area shortly before the interval the crossbar shook for a second time.

Swansea, though, had lost their early verve. The second half began with more prolonged pressure from the home side and, suddenly, the Welsh club’s attacks were becoming sporadic and Leon Britton, the outstanding player of the first 45 minutes, was seeing less of the ball. Stephen Dobbie, an indefatigable worker, brought the first serious save from Joe Hart after one counter-attack, but there was a clear swing in favour of Mancini’s team by this stage and it was no particular surprise when Dzeko opened the scoring.

Silva started the move, wriggling away from Britton inside his own half and then advancing through the middle. His pass sent Johnson scampering clear, cutting inside from the right before trying to curl a shot past Vorm. The Dutchman got both hands to the ball but needed to get more distance on the parry. Instead he turned it straight into Dzeko’s path, six yards out, for a relatively simple finish.

The home side were rampant now. Aguero’s debut goal was a simple tap-in at the far post after Johnson had played in Richards on the right wing. Dzeko’s pass then put in Aguero again and the €43 million signing lifted the ball over Vorm before hooking it back into Silva’s path for the third goal. And then the pièce de résistance. Aguero’s second was unstoppable; Eastlands has a new hero. Carlos who?

MAN CITY: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Toure Yaya, De Jong (Aguero 59), Barry, Silva (Milner 82), Dzeko, Johnson (Savic 74). Subs Not Used: Taylor, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Balotelli.

SWANSEA: Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Williams, Tate, Britton (Allen 65), Dobbie (Routledge 65), Agustien, Dyer (Lita 81),Graham, Sinclair. Subs Not Used: Moreira, Orlandi, Moore,

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).