Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said continuity helped his team beat Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday.
The Premier League champions began their latest defence with victory at Stamford Bridge.
Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored in either half to ensure City left London with three points.
Guardiola, speaking to Sky Sports after the game, expressed his delight at winning the game despite not being at their best.
He said: “I didn’t expect it. We are away from our best so three points is the good news. The bad news is we have 65 games ahead of us.
“We have an advantage, it’s our ninth season together so we know each other well. Of course, there are mistakes you have to improve but we talked, the difference in being champions was our body language; how did we behave?
“It’s the bad moments in the season and in the games that define the big teams. For me, it is an honour to be in charge of these guys. I’m so fortunate, I could not say more.”
EPL: I didn’t expect we could beat Chelsea 2-0 – Guardiola
