Man City players have given Pep Guardiola confidence over later start

Manchester City worked hard to win the Premier League title last season and they continue to play hard while other clubs return to training.

Jack Grealish has attracted plenty of attention for his partying but when even Kevin De Bruyne is smashing shots it shows that the whole squad are enjoying their well-earned break. That rest is longer than most too; by the time the Blues return to the City Football Academy, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United will already have started preparing for the new campaign.

That later start should not encourage City's rivals though given it is a well-established pattern from Pep Guardiola to give his stars as much time off as possible. As both one of the most demanding managers in the game and one of the managers who complains most regularly about the ever-increasing demands on the players, the City coach appreciates more than most the need for everyone to down tools when they can.

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If it is a gamble to go back to work later than others, it is one that worked out pretty well last season at the Etihad. Guardiola's decision to give his Euro 2020 stars an extra week of holiday before returning to training may have left them undercooked for the beginning of the campaign - where results and performances were below what was expected - but meant that they lasted another marathon campaign culminating in the final-day victory they needed to clinch the Premier League title.

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This summer is slightly different because of the winter World Cup. The exhausting demands on the players that will come from November and beyond, with the Premier League returning to action on Boxing