Kalvin Phillips offered some insight the other week when he explained what a pre-season under Pep Guardiola looks like.
‘When I was at Leeds with Marcelo Bielsa, we were running around the track,’ he said. ‘I was getting used to that. I came here and it’s all ball work in short, sharp bursts and tight spaces. Those sessions are so hard.’
It has been known for some time that Manchester City get the round things out on day one but the presumption was that this eased City back in.