Manchester City drive on so imperiously and inexorably that it is impossible not to fear for the competitive balance of this Premier League season.
The inevitability of losing to them is becoming so great that the threat of defeatism lurks. Liverpool and Chelsea are unbeaten, just like City, yet every point they drop has grave consequences.
The usual narrative about the league leaders’ supreme technical merit applies. The third goal was the high point: a drilled, 20-yard diagonal from Fernandinho, cushioned on the volley by Raheem Sterling into Leroy Sane, who ‘sat down’ Fabian Balbuena and clipped past Lucasz Fabianski.