United and City already look the teams to beat…

Continued...

It might be premature to be making predictions when the season is just one weekend old, but Manchester City and Manchester United already look to have gained the upper hand over their Premier League rivals.

While Arsenal and Chelsea huffed and puffed their way to goalless draws against Newcastle and Stoke respectively, the Manchester clubs looked to have plenty of firepower in their armoury with victories over Swansea and West Brom.

Manchester City were always going to be favourites against Premier League new boys Swansea, but the verve with which they set about dispatching their opponents will have taken some observers by surprise. Having spent much of last season focused on assembling a miserly defence, Roberto Mancini has given his side an attacking boost with the signing of Sergio Aguero, and it was his introduction from the substitute’s bench that gave Monday’s performance the polish it deserved.

Here he is enjoying a note perfect debut…

By this stage, Manchester United had already done for Roy Hodgson’s Baggies in a 2-1 win. Whilst the victory came at a cost, with both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic limping off injured, there was encouragement to be taken from the form of the lively Ashley Young in a confident debut performance.

Much of the spotlight has fallen on young keeper David De Gea, who suffered another blunder on Sunday when Shane Long’s speculative shot somehow managed to elude him. However, his confidence is bound to improve as time goes on, and those criticizing him would do well to remember the inauspicious start made by Peter Schmeichel when he first joined the club.

Naturally it’s far too early to be writing anyone off just yet, but from this weekend’s opening exchanges, it looks like the Premier League trophy may not be leaving Manchester any time soon.