London (AFP)
Pep Guardiola praised Manchester City's attitude to defy a disrupted pre-season and get their Premier League title defence off to a winning start by beating Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday.
Goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic inflicted defeat on Enzo Maresca in his first match in charge of the Blues.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji did play the 90 minutes despite their late return to training after reaching the knockout stages of the Euros.
Yet, the champions were still able to lay down a marker against one of the few sides they failed to beat in the league last season.
"I really didn't expect it. I know what these guys can do, but the first day and lack of training," said Guardiola.
"We had two or three days to prepare, but we solved this lack of many things with our commitment.
"You cannot imagine how privileged and fortunate I am to live these experiences with this incredible group of players."
Guardiola's team are chasing a record-extending fifth consecutive Premier League title.
Maresca has the tough task of moulding a functioning team unit from a bloated Chelsea squad that has 43 players and over 50 on the books including those on loan.
None of Chelsea's nine summer signings to date were included in Maresca's starting line-up.
City, by contrast, are a model of continuity and consistent excellence.
Haaland was one of City's few stars to have had a summer off from international tournaments and took just 18 minutes to make his mark.