If the prize will ultimately go to those prepared to be bold, then Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will replace Chelsea as champions.
No team in this league, not even the free-scoring Manchester United, seeks the initiative and demands the ball as they do.
And it will seemingly take more than the erratic driving of an Amsterdam cabbie to thwart their plans. No Sergio Aguero, no problem: Guardiola still set out to take on the reigning champions in their backyard, outpass and outplay them, and go home with the spoils.
Of course, fortune doesn’t always favour such boldness.