Thursday 3 September 2015 11:29, UK
Manchester City continued their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory over newly-promoted Watford on Saturday.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have taken maximum points from their opening four games, scoring 10 goals, conceding none and opening up an eight-point lead on defending champions Chelsea.
Their unstoppable performances are a stark contrast from the faltering form which dogged their 2014/15 campaign, so what exactly is behind the upturn in their fortunes?
Defensive improvement
The most significant transformation has occurred in defence. City conceded 38 goals last season - more than Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Southampton - and it was an area in urgent need of improvement.
"I think 38 goals conceded in 38 games is too much," said Pellegrini early this month. "I think a team that wants to win a title must concede not more than 30 or 31 goals." The early signs could hardly have been more encouraging, with Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala forming a watertight partnership in front of Joe Hart.
Last season, club captain Kompany's loss of form was a major problem for City. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said he had turned into "Mr Rash" as his decision-making deteriorated in the second half of the campaign. His usual authority was replaced by uncertainty, and City were left looking vulnerable.
This season, he has emphatically returned to form. His confidence is restored and he has been helped by some assured displays from Mangala alongside him. The French international endured a torrid debut campaign, but he has responded well this season and he ranks first for interceptions and second for tackles and headed clearances at the club.
The result of City's defensive improvement is that as well as keeping four consecutive clean sheets, City have limited their opposition to just six shots on target in total - fewer than any other Premier League side.
Full-backs Aleksandar Kolarov and Bacary Sagna have also impressed, and new signing Nicolas Otamendi - the best central defender in La Liga last season - has given them another elite option in at the back. It is a measure of their improvement that Martin Demichelis, their best defender last season, is now fourth-choice centre-back.
Sterling impact
Sterling scored his first City goal following his £49m transfer from Liverpool against the Hornets on Saturday. The 20-year-old has taken no time to adapt to his new surroundings, and his arrival has been fundamental in City's early success.
"Raheem has played very well in all the games," Pellegrini told Sky Sports on Saturday. "Of course he wants to score - it was good for him to do it. I'm sure he will score more goals."
Sterling has added pace, guile and natural width, and the stats show City are deliberately targeting his left flank. Against Watford, 44 per cent of their attacks came down the left compared to 30.2 per cent down the right, and in the 3-0 win over Chelsea it was a similar story.
Sterling has also combined to devastating effect with left-back Kolarov, who is being encouraged to overlap at every opportunity while Sagna plays a more conservative, covering role on the opposite flank. That combination play was most obvious against Everton, when Sterling released Kolarov to score from a narrow angle.
Silva service
Sterling has also helped bring out the best in David Silva, who has been outstanding in their opening four games - even by his own lofty standards. The Spaniard has scored once and claimed four assists, meaning he has been directly involved in more goals than any other player in the Premier League so far.
Gary Neville feels Silva is thriving as a result of being surrounding by speedy players. "He's now got pace all around him with Raheem Sterling, Jesus Navas, Kolarov and Sergio Aguero," the former defender said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
"Last season, they didn't have that pace in the team - Aguero was on and off form, Sterling wasn't at the club, Navas was in and out of the team. When you put all that pace back in, it makes Silva's job so much easier because he can just feed that pace."
Silva has been used on the flanks for much of his City career, but he is relishing his central role. "David Silva is an outstanding player all the time, not just this season, but he looks much better in that No 10 role," added Neville.
Silva's intelligence was plain to see for City's second goal against Watford. The Spaniard took four opposition players out of the game with his clever reverse pass for Fernandinho, who made the most of the opportunity with an emphatic diagonal finish. "Silva is able to create space where it's impossible to see any," said Hornets boss Quique Sanchez Flores, who managed him at Valencia.
Competition for places?
While their rivals endured frustration in the transfer market, City acted with ruthless efficiency. "City have reacted like a wounded animal in the transfer market, they've gone big," said Neville this weekend.
The arrivals of Sterling, Otamendi and Fabian Delph were followed by a club record move for Kevin De Bruyne, and the competitive environment in City's squad appears to be raising performances across the board.
Indeed, it is actually hard to see where Otamendi and De Bruyne fit in at the moment, as neither Mangala or Navas have done anything to warrant being dropped. It gives Pellegrini plenty to ponder and leaves City with depth and quality in every position.
They look like the best team in the league by an absolute street at this moment in time.
"They look like the best team in the league by an absolute street at this moment in time," added Neville. "They are going to take some stopping. It's too early to say they're going to be champions, but at this moment in time, the way you see them at the start of the season and the way they have added to their squad has sent a real message out."
