Vincent Kompany has warned his Manchester City colleagues they can’t go into their game with Chelsea on Sunday thinking about the title.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side were in dominant mood against West Brom, opening their season in style with a 3-0 win in which David Silva pulled the strings expertly.
Equally pleasing for Pellegrini was the much-improved displays of Kompany and Yaya Toure, both of whom had looked shadows of themselves last season. Toure in particular was menacing, scoring the second and playing a key role in the opener, which was deflected off Silva on its way into the net.
Kompany also found the target in a result that will give them huge confidence ahead of the visit of the reigning champions. However the City captain is keen to not get carried away ahead of an important game for both sides.
"It will be a big game very early in the season and I’m sure it will matter," Kompany said.
"We can’t go into it thinking it’s about winning the league but it will matter so we need to put in a great performance."
Raheem Sterling made a decent impression on his Manchester City debut, though the summer signing missed a simple chance to bury the game just before half-time. However the captain is glad to have the 20-year-old in the side and is confident Sterling will provide last season’s runners-up with another attacking weapon.
Kompany added: "The main thing is that we have some new tools to use this season. Raheem has given us sharpness and speed to hurt teams when we’re defending. It gives other teams things to think about. It gives us that bit of danger we need and we have so many tools to hurt teams."
