Man City and Liverpool sleepwalk through opening weekend as Premier League’s gulf in class threatens

The worry over teams being unable to challenge the league’s dominant sides is becoming increasingly prominent

Great teams win when they are far from their best. They find a way to get it done. There is no doubting Manchester City’s pedigree. Pep Guardiola has built a team capable of rare beauty. But they stuttered in their opening game of the season at the London Stadium on Saturday. They were there for the taking by West Ham United. City won 5-0.

A warm and windy day in the East End should have offered the home team the chance to examine City’s mental and physical readiness for a long campaign. The champions lacked sharpness, especially in the early exchanges. Passes went astray and City made a number of uncharacteristic errors. "We must maintain high standards," the Catalan said. "If you don't you have a tendency to relax, to be sloppy, like we did in the first half."

Rodri, their £63 million summer signing from Atletico Madrid, was making his Premier League debut and produced a couple of mistakes early in the game. It was the perfect opportunity to put some pressure on the 23-year-old. Even the finest foreign players have had teething problems coping with the pace and physicality of life in the English top flight. Instead Rodri was given space and freedom to ease his way into the action and he became more influential as the game went on. He must be wondering what the fuss was about.

It’s easy to understand why City were slow off the mark. Six of the squad returned to the club very late after playing in the Copa America and Africa Cup of Nations. Guardiola has expressed concern that the schedule of almost constant football will “kill our players.” Pre-season tours, too, have become marketing exercises rather than a preparation for the big kick-off.

West Ham have similar problems to confront – they played City in China in the Premier League Asia Trophy tournament last month and had their own international absentees – but it felt like Manuel Pellegrini’s team had come to the conclusion that the season starts next week against Brighton & Hove Albion. This might have been City’s most vulnerable 90 minutes of the campaign but West Ham allowed them to sleepwalk to a five-goal thrashing.

It is a worry. Norwich City rolled over on Friday night at Anfield, allowing Liverpool to cruise unchallenged to a four-goal lead by half time. Perhaps there are some excuses for Norwich. They might have suffered stage fright on their return to the Premier League and they will almost certainly be involved in the relegation battle. Daniel Farke and his team may consider it worth saving their energies for their fellow basement dwellers. There can be no mitigation for West Ham. This is a side that should finish in the top half of the table and maybe claim a Europa League slot.

Manuel Lanzini and co should have left the pitch hollow-eyed and exhausted after pushing City all the way but they appeared relaxed about being bit-part players in a rout. The club should put two inflatable hammers on the badge because City looked like they had been threatened with a blow-up toy. Just a hint of steel would have been welcome.

Manchester City celebrate victory over West Ham (Getty)

Most of the headlines after the game centred around the VAR incidents but they were a sideshow. The two West Ham penalty appeals in the first half could be dismissed without technology. Raheem Sterling’s disallowed goal is problematic because the margins were so tight. Could anyone say with any certainty that the freeze-framing isolated the optimum moment to show when the ball was kicked and the winger edged past the last defender?

Mike Dean and the VAR team got the City penalty and the retake right but the system is clumsy and the communication with the crowd patchy. The reality is that VAR will never eradicate controversy. It just changes the nature of the dispute. It is not a threat to the game.

Pep Guardiola waves to Manchester City’s fans after the full-time whistle (Getty)

What is a threat is when teams fail to challenge the dominant sides. With the restructuring of the Champions League on the horizon, the gap between the Premier League’s elite and next-tier clubs cannot grow so wide that the lack of domestic competitiveness is used as an excuse for the wealthiest clubs to put their main focus on Europe. Uefa are trying to sneak in a Super League by the back door. The likes of West Ham are holding the entrance open with displays like this.

None of this is City’s fault. They were allowed an easy afternoon but still showed flashes of real class. Riyad Mahrez’s through ball to Kyle Walker for the opening goal was magnificent, splitting the West Ham defence with precise brilliance. It allowed the full-back to turn on the afterburners, outsprint Aaron Cresswell and provide a wonderful cross for Gabriel Jesus to flick into the net.

Raheem Sterling scored three goals as Manchester City thrashed West Ham (Reuters)

For the second Kevin De Bruyne was allowed to run unopposed for 30 yards in the West Ham half and then given the freedom to pick out Sterling. It might have been an even more uplifting goal if the Belgian had been challenged on his route to the area.

Sterling’s second was a clever dink over Lukasz Fabianski. When players as good as the England winger get room in the box they will punish the opposition. His final goal – preceded by Sergio Aguero’s twice-taken penalty - was put away with the casual nonchalance of a training game.

City are a great side but they did not need to show their power. They will be much, much better and score fewer goals. West Ham will improve, too, but on Saturday they could hardly have been any more compliant.