While United, Chelsea show their flaws, City makes another statement
It may be early in the Premier League season, but it already seems as though no other team can truly challenge Manchester City for the title. Chelsea and Manchester United both stumbled this weekend, while Pep Guardiola and his spirited horses trampled a commendable Stoke City 7-2 at the Etihad.
Chelsea and United are perhaps the only two true competitors to City's title charge this season, but Chelsea is already struggling to keep pace, while the Red Devils might let the title slip away without putting up the right kind of fight.
A 0-0 draw at Anfield against Liverpool is the exact sort of result manager Jose Mourinho is known for - and should be working to avoid if he is to realise the Red Devils' ambitions. That Mourinho once again took a conservative approach in a key away fixture is troubling. If not for the heroics of David De Gea, Mourinho would be answering a different line of questioning post-match.
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Chelsea's 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace raises even more urgent red flags. On the heels of injuries to Alvaro Morata and N'Golo Kante, the Blues' biggest flaw was exposed - a woeful lack of depth. Antonio Conte's side is now out of the top four, due in part to those injuries but also because Chelsea does not boast adequate cover for its missing pieces.
Guardiola has neither of these problems at City. A 1-0 away win at Chelsea showed the sort of ruthlessness needed to sit above the slim margins of the table, and his full stable of quality players - Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Fernandinho, and Sergio Aguero among them - affords him the luxury of surviving injury setbacks.
It also allows Guardiola's side to exert control over matches and show its foes respect. This much talent is unparalleled in the Premier League. He need not park the bus, instead calling for merciless showings. While City almost lost the reins of the match at 3-2, the team quickly took them back in the second half. Call it needless spending, but these factors - longevity, flexibility, and depth - make up for the glaring deficiencies of City's peers. It's proving money well-spent.
Perhaps United sat back in the knowledge that a single Liverpool goal would be a mountain it could not overcome, and played for a draw instead; that is a consolation City does not settle for, and did not settle for against Chelsea. If the reigning champion is indeed on the verge of collapse amid its absences, Guardiola can't relate; he didn't miss Benjamin Mendy or Aguero at Stamford Bridge.
In the end, City lacks its peers' weaknesses but stands alone as the sum of their best parts: in form, consistent, capable of breaking down defensive walls, fully committed, and tactically flexible. It's why Guardiola's side should be confident of renewed celebrations - and silverware - come season's end.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)