'It's a problem' - Gary Neville explains why Man City trait is a concern for Premier League rivals

Gary Neville believes Manchester City's physical dominance over Premier League rivals 'is a problem' for teams looking to catch them.

Pep Guardiola's side started the new Premier League campaign with a 3-0 win over Burnley. The champions scored two of their goals from set-pieces with Erling Haaland and Rodri profiting.

City's switch to a four-centre-back system has helped make them more solid defensively whilst retaining their attacking output. Neville is concerned for any title hopefuls that City's new-found physical edge, coupled with their technical quality, makes it very difficult for any team to match them.

"City weren't at their best but they can now win games in all different ways," Neville said on The Gary Neville Podcast. "We know about their possession, high-quality, Haaland is a sensation.

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"Set-pieces are a huge threat. They were too strong for Burnley. One thing you'd always say, especially if Burnley played Man City that Burnley would be physically stronger but City would be technically better.

"We are now at the stage where Manchester City are physically better than most teams they play and technically better. That is a real problem and it's why they won the treble."

Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake were the preferred pairing for City on Friday night with Ruben Dias and John Stones unavailable. Josko Gvardiol came off the bench for his Manchester City debut.

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