Sterling start for Manuel Pellegrini

Man City 2 Watford 0: For Manchester City, the club records are being countered with caution; they may look unstoppable in both the Premier League and the transfer market as August closes, but no one at the Etihad Stadium expects this to be a trouble-free season. Friday’s Champions League draw gave notice of the difficulties that lie ahead.

“We always seem to attract the interesting groups,” captain Vincent Kompany said of a draw that pitted City against Juventus, Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach. With that sort of opposition to come, there is a collective recognition at the club that getting carried away with a win over Watford would be foolish.

And yet, it was a weekend of much encouragement. A club-record 10th successive league victory was secured with relatively little fuss. As Manuel Pellegrini pointed out afterwards, these were the sort of matches in which his team dropped points last season.