Saturday evening's victory restored City's five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table. Jay Bothroyd headed QPR in front in the first half - the first time City have trailed this season - and after goals from Dzeko and David Silva turned things around, Heidar Helguson brought the hosts level. Yaya Toure headed in the winner, but City had to hang on for a nervous final 10 minutes. "It was very tough but at the end we can be happy," Dzeko said on ESPN. "I must say, they are the best team we have played against this season and I want to pay compliments to Queens Park Rangers. "I was very surprised at how they played, how good they were, especially in the first half, and then again in the second half as well after we scored the third goal. "We can be very happy to win." City will now be looking forward to returning home, having been away from Manchester since travelling to Spain for Wednesday's Champions League win over Villarreal. Manager Roberto Mancini was delighted to take the points from a tough encounter. "When you play every three days, it is impossible, every game can be hard. QPR played very well but in the end it was important that we won. "We had some problems with Samir (Nasri) before the game - his knee - and we can't take any more risks with him after so many games so it is better we did not need him because his knee is not good. "It was hard in the second half, even though we played better and scored to make it 2-1. We had three or four chances to close the game, but when you don't close the game you take a risk because anything can happen." Silva's goal was the highlight of an often disjointed City performance, with the Spanish playmaker taking one touch to escape three defenders before firing home from close range. "David for me is one of the best players in the world," Mancini said. "But not only him, all the other players - Yaya, Edin, for sure. "It was really important to win. In the last two weeks we have played six games, which is very, very hard, we have won always and it is very important to go into the international break with the five-point gap." QPR boss Neil Warnock was proud of his players in defeat. "We said before the game people will write us off, we've only come together in a few weeks as a team," he said. "But we've played without fear today, we're disappointed of course. They were three silly goals defensively, individuals make mistakes and top players punish you. "We've hit a couple of posts and it would have been interesting if Jamie Mackie had gone down in the box and given the referee a decision to make, but he's too honest for that. "But I don't think they'll get a tougher test than that, so credit to the boys. "It was a great game, you take your hats off to the lads. We have made individual mistakes, but their first goal was I think their first shot - 43 minutes - and that says a lot. "In the end I think they were quite fortunate to get away with a win today."
