Manchester City coach David Platt praised Edin Dzeko's killer instinct, saying the striker always came up with deadly goals just when City need them the most.
The Bosnia forward stepped off the bench to inspire a dramatic turnaround in fortunes at West Bromwich on Saturday.
Dzeko struck two late goals -- the second in injury time -- as 10-man City came from behind to win 2-1 and end the hosts' perfect English Premier League record at The Hawthorns this season.
It was sufficient to preserve City's unbeaten league start and ensured they avoided losing ground to leaders Chelsea and rivals Manchester United.
Platt, who performed manager Roberto Mancini's post-match media duties after the Italian lost his voice amid the drama, hailed Dzeko's heroics.
The Bosnian had performed a similar trick when, in their previous away trip at Fulham, he scored the winner within a minute of coming on as a substitute.
"If you look at Edin Dzeko's career with Manchester City he has scored a lot of 'heavy goals' -- goals that are very important," Platt said of the striker, who has scored six times for City so far this season.
"He scored one against Blackburn two seasons ago that more or less got us Champions League football. He has been a threat all season and his form has been very good."
He also scored the dramatic injury-time equaliser as Manchester City beat 10-man QPR 3-2 in the final game of last season to win the Premier League.
At The Hawthorns, James Milner's sending off mid-way through the first half had appeared to hand the advantage to the Baggies and they took the lead through Shane Long's close-range strike.
However, the response from Mancini's side was befitting of their status as champions as Dzeko levelled with an 80th-minute header before stunning the Baggies, who had won their previous five home league matches, by clinically finishing off a swift counter-attack.
"I don't think you win any championships without that spirit," Platt added. "Last season we won our last six matches. There were games we didn't play particularly well in but won."
Milner's dismissal "didn't look like a clear goalscoring opportunity to me but equally I think you could see why it was given.
"There was not a great deal we could do about it after 20 or so minutes. We couldn't sit there for 70 minutes moaning about the decision.
"I thought for the rest of the first half we were affected by it. No one was really controlling the game.
"We went in at half-time and said if we keep our heads, stay disciplined and stay together, we knew we would have to defend when we have to because they will have an extra man but, by the same token, we can impose our play on them.
"We were terrific second half, we more or less controlled the match. If you look at the statistics you would not have thought we had a man less."
Dzeko's second goal came courtesy of a breakaway led by another substitute, Sergio Aguero, but Platt defended the decision to start with both players on the bench.
"Sergio flew back into the country Thursday lunch-time," following the round of international matches, he said.
"People make a lot out of what team you start.
"We are picking teams with a view to a game on Wednesday (against Ajax in the Champions League), what the players have got in their legs and where they have travelled on international duty -- Edin himself played two international games and flew back from Bosnia."
The outcome was harsh on Steve Clarke's team.
"I'm disappointed with the equaliser but we still wanted to win the game, that's a characteristic of our team," the Baggies boss said.
"Maybe we made a mistake by trying to chase the win rather than settle for a point. Once bitten, twice shy, maybe next time I would keep one more player back.
"But I thought we deserved something from the game."
