City, whose billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour has spent hundreds of millions transforming the club into title challengers, lead the early standings on goal difference from Wolverhampton Wanderers who also have six points from two games after their 2-0 win over Fulham.
Champions Manchester United will join the leaders if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Monday when Spurs finally kick off their campaign after last week’s season-opener against Everton was called off following the London riots.
City, who beat Swansea City 4-0 on Monday, took their tally to seven goals from two matches with another fine attacking performance sparked by Silva who opened the scoring after 26 minutes with a low shot that Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen allowed to slip through his grasp.
The Finnish keeper had no chance with the next long-range effort 12 minutes later when Gareth Barry thundered the ball home, but Bolton, who started the match in good spirits after their opening 4-0 win at Queens Park Rangers, were quickly back in contention.
A fine move ended with Martin Petrov crossing for Ivan Klasnic to sweep a low volley past Joe Hart, but City regained their lead two minutes into the second half when Edin Dzeko maintained his good run of scoring form with a well-taken drive after holding off Zat Knight.
Resilient Bolton came back again when Kevin Davies outjumped Joleon Lescott to head their second after 63 minutes.
But City held firm, finishing the match with substitute Carlos Tevez on the pitch in place of a tiring Sergio Aguero, a sight many City fans did not expect to see again following a summer in which he has made no secret of his desire to leave the club.
City manager Roberto Mancini said he was relieved to leave with three points.
“I can’t believe we suffered all the way to the end, but Bolton are a good team and tried to score,” the Italian told Sky Sports.
“But we can’t concede two goals like we did, we have to pay more attention.”
City, who have qualified for the Champions League for the first time and are chasing their first title since 1968, have started well but Mancini knows they still have to improve to wrest the crown from United.
Wolves, who won the last of their three titles in 1959, have no real chance of repeating that but have made their best start to a top-flight campaign since 1979 by following up last week’s win at Blackburn Rovers with victory over Fulham.
They went ahead when Kevin Doyle finished clinically after riding two challenges after 42 minutes and they doubled their lead through Matt Jarvis just before halftime.
Substitute Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored a late equalizer for Hertha Berlin in a 1-1 draw at Hannover in the Bundesliga on Sunday, while Schalke rallied from two goals down to win 4-2 at Mainz.
Lasogga scored in the 83rd minute, when Christian Lell whipped in a cross for the 19-year-old to glance the ball past Ron-Robert Zieler with his left boot.
Hannover — which opened the scoring through Sergio Pinto’s 33rd-minute free kick — had a goal disallowed in the 89th, when Christian Pander’s free kick went untouched before ending in the net.
Earlier, Schalke’s Christian Fuchs — who played for Mainz last season and was jeered throughout the game by the home fans — scored with a free kick in the 90th minute after Joel Matip had given the visitors the lead in the 81st.
Raul Gonzalez set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar to begin the comeback in the 57th, before Benedikt Hoewedes equalized in the 64th.
Montpellier beats Rennes 4-0 to go top in France
Souleymane Camara scored twice as Montpellier thrashed Rennes 4-0 to provisionally top the French league on Sunday, and Brazilian midfielder Nene’s second-half penalty gave Paris Saint-Germain its first victory by beating Valenciennes 2-1.
With Montpellier already leading 2-0, Camara danced through the defense and finished with a curling shot in the 72nd, before again finding the net with a low strike in the 86th.
Montpellier midfielder Younes Belhanda gave the hosts a 1-0 lead from a penalty in the 31st after Rennes goalkeeper Benoit Costil had fouled Garry Bocaly. Winger Geoffrey Dernis doubled the lead with a powerful strike in the 52nd.
In Paris, PSG winger Jeremy Menez led a counterattack in the 39th minute to slip a through ball for France striker Kevin Gameiro, who chipped goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau for a 1-0 lead.
But Valenciennes midfielder Remi Gomis powered a header into the net to level on the stroke of halftime.
Nene ensured the big-spending PSG converted the 64th-minute spot kick after Valenciennes defender David Ducourtioux had handled the ball.
Also, 10-man Sochaux held on to beat Nancy 2-1.
On Saturday, it was: Caen 1, Lille 2; Brest 1, Lyon 1; Nice 1, Toulouse 1; Bordeaux 1, Auxerre 1; Dijon 2, Lorient 0 and Ajaccio 1, Evian 1.
