Manchester City’s transformation into a physical team makes them very hard to stop in the title race, according to Gary Neville.

The Sky Sports pundit was reacting to the Premier League champions sweeping aside Burnley in their opening fixture when he hit upon a key reason why they have become so formidable:

“City weren’t at their best but they can now win games in all different ways. We know about their possession, high-quality, Haaland is a sensation.”

“Set-pieces are a huge threat. They were too strong for Burnley. One thing you’d always say, especially if Burnley played Man City that Burnley would be physically stronger but City would be technically better.”

“We are now at the stage where Manchester City are physically better than most teams they play and technically better. That is a real problem and it’s why they won the treble.”

City’s dominance in the Premier League is a testament to their adaptability

You come up against every style of opponent in the English top flight and City now have a squad that, as Neville says, can win in many “different ways” and adapt to the team they are facing.

Manager Pep Guardiola has got plenty of weapons at his disposal, whether that is passing a team into submission, scoring from set-pieces or even playing on the counter-attack.

Rivals are playing catch-up

While Arsenal came close to knocking City off their perch last season, their lack of depth and experience ultimately led to their demise. It remains to be seen whether the Gunners have learned their lessons.

With the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool, you do get the feeling that their rebuilds are not quite complete and it would be a surprise if they do have the staying power to keep with City for the full 38 games.