Manchester City got their Champions League campaign off to a spectacular start on Wednesday night with a thumping 6-3 win over RB Leipzig.
City were rampant in attack, taking their goal tally for their last three home games to 16, and despite conceding three goals there was never a sense that they weren't going to take all three points away with them.
However, before kick-off, former City defender Joleon Lescott wasn't so confident about the chances of Pep Guardiola's side in Europe this season.
Speaking on BT Sport , Lescott said: "It’s going to be difficult, they came so close last year. For me, the competition is a lot stronger this year and you can’t rule out any of the teams from England and PSG with the recruitment of [Lionel] Messi should be favourites."
Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing - when he made those comments, Lescott didn't have the pleasure of knowing that City would win 6-3, or that PSG would be held to a 1-1 draw by Club Brugge.
But regardless, City could have lost on Wednesday night and he still would have been wrong.
Yes, some of the teams in the competition are stronger this season (including City, might we add), but many of the elite clubs are weaker.
Barcelona have lost Lionel Messi, Juventus have lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid have lost Sergio Ramos. Atalanta are not the free-scoring force they once were, and Leipzig, who reached the semi-finals in 2020, looked defensively hopeless against City.
He's right to say that you can't rule out the other English teams - but how much of a risk do they pose to City?
Guardiola's side didn't fall to Liverpool last season and the Reds haven't strengthened much over the summer. Manchester United may have signed Ronaldo, but as they showed in defeat to Swiss side Young Boys, their squad still needs a fair amount of work. Chelsea are the obvious threat - they have added Romelu Lukaku to their already-Champions League winning team, but there's no reason why City can't beat them on their day.
Then there's PSG, who City will meet in just under two weeks on September 28. Scoring goals has never been the Ligue 1 side's problem - of course, Messi will make them even more of a threat - but their defensive weaknesses and ill-discipline, as was evident when City beat them in last season's semi-final, can be exploited.
Then there's City. Arguably, they have improved the squad from last season. Sergio Aguero has been replaced by Jack Grealish - an Argentine legend who rarely figured last season for a rising England star who is one of the best creative players in the Premier League. The rest of Europe's elite might have improved, but so have Guardiola's side.
Ultimately, City strolled to the title last season ahead of Chelsea, United and Liverpool. Cup football is different, but after heartbreaking disappointment last term, there's no reason why City shouldn't be considered favourites to go the distance this time around.
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