LONDON (Reuters) - As Stoke City striker Peter Crouch put it after scoring the winning goal against Southampton on Saturday, "training grounds are a dark place when you lose before an international break." Chelsea's opulent training centre in leafy Surrey will be one of the bleaker ones over the next 10 days but the few Manchester City and Manchester United players not required by their country will make their respective headquarters sunny places. With seven games played, the two Manchester clubs are pulling ahead in the Premier League, justifying the verdict of those pundits who predicted they would see off the challenge of London and Liverpool and decide the title between them in the most parochial of scraps. The way Pep Guardiola's City fell away after winning their first six games last season was a useful reminder that early results can be misleading. City, with their extraordinary pace in attack, recently struck 16 times in three league games, beating two top-six clubs (Liverpool and Watford) in the process.

Source: The Star September 30, 2017 20:15 UTC