Toure looking for more free-kick action with Manchester City

Yaya Toure is hoping he gets more of a look in on Manchester City’s free-kicks in the coming weeks, after scoring a sensational dead-ball effort at Crystal Palace.

The 33-year-old Ivorian gave Eagles stopper Wayne Hennessey no chance with his curling strike, putting the gloss on a 3-0 FA Cup triumph after Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane both found the target.

Toure, who was left out in the cold by manager Pep Guardiola earlier this season, has now scored five goals in 13 appearances since his return to the first team.

And he admits he does not get as many chances on City’s free-kicks as he would like, given the amount of specialists in the team.

“I don’t want to say I’m lucky all the time but I think today it was a great goal,” he said.

“I haven’t had many free-kicks this season because Kevin [De Bruyne] always shoots well, as does [Aleksandar] Kolarov.

“We have a couple of players who shoot very well and it’s good to have competition all the time, it’s positive for the team and we’re looking forward to Wednesday’s game.

“I hope it’s going to be our year. We need to do a perfect second half of the season and it was hard to start with a draw against Tottenham but we have to keep going.

“The season is very long and the FA Cup is very important for the club and any trophy is going to be welcomed.

“We need to stay tight and continue fighting until the end.”