Sometimes Manchester City's opponents are best placed to offer a real gauge of where they are at and, a few days after last week's win at West Ham, Michail Antonio was still talking about them.'Their system is liquid,' he said. 'It can't be contained. They're rotating everywhere. It was a masterclass.'
High praise. And the thing is, City are not usually quite this strong during the opening weeks.
A defeat here, dropped points there and general stodginess as a consequence of extended summer breaks scheduled by Pep Guardiola.
Pep Guardiola (left) has implored the likes of Erling Haaland to make a fast start to the season
But out in the USA last month the squad looked a bit different.