Record buy Savio came off the bench for the injured Valon Behrami and it was his run and shot which helped to tee up Collison for a neatly-taken winner in the 71st minute.

Both men earned warm praise from their manager, with Zola particularly pleased with Collison's efforts.

Asked about the difference in performance between the homegrown talent and the off-colour Robinho - Manchester City's £32million buy from Real Madrid - he said: "That is the beauty of football. Sometimes if you have passion and if you have belief you can be successful and I think Jack Collison is an example of all of that.

"Jack is unbelievable, he's getting better and better. He's 19 and he's playing nearly every week. He's got a very good attitude and he is going to get better and better."

Collison is a left-sided player by choice but excelled on the right and Zola insists versatility is a big part of his game.

"I feel very lucky to have him. Not only him but other players. that's why I like the attitude here," the Italian added.

"I can play them in different positions. As long as you know how to play football you can still produce and be important for the team. I'm sure I could play Jack Collison up front or right at the back and he could still produce good results for the team."

Savio, a club record buy in January from Italian side Brescia, is another who is gradually making his mark on the Premier League and Zola was pleased with his game-turning cameo.

"Savio has done well, the boy came on today and played a good game.

"I'm pleased for him because he came here with a lot of expectations and to be honest he was a little bit under pressure because he knows people are waiting for something special from him.

"But I'm pleased with how he is working and his attitude is good. He is going to be a successful player here I'm sure.

"We bought him because he has something different, something that is sometimes missing in a game and today we saw a little bit of that.

"I'm sure there's still a lot to come from him."

Zola's opposite number, City boss Mark Hughes, was disappointed to see his side revert to type after putting an end to their dismal away record with an impressive 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

"It was frustrating because we created good chances in the game and there were long periods when we were in the ascendancy," said Hughes.

"The away form has been a concern all year. We have done better in recent games and we were excellent against Liverpool.

"In that game we scored first, we were quite comfortable in the game and we got a positive result.

"Today we haven't been able to get that positive result. Perhaps we've played a little too much like the home team on the road this year and we've been caught on the break.

"I think that happened again here."