And one half of the miserly duo, Vincent Kompany, has warned Premier and Europa League opponents that the Blues have no intentions to let their grip slip.
Four clean sheets in six Premier League games and another three from as many outings in Europe points to the solidity of Roberto Mancini’s side and the combination of Kompany and former skipper Kolo Toure in the centre of the back four has much to do with that.
Certainly Belgian international Kompany is delighted with his own form but he is even happier to hand out the bulk of the plaudits elsewhere.
“Kolo and I work hard for each other and now that we have had time as a partnership you can see the difference,” he noted.
“But as a defender you are always exposed to how much the rest of the team is willing to help you out. I think that the clean sheets we have been having are also a result of the great work that is being done in midfield and by the strikers.
It is not that from one day to the next Kolo and I have become supermen
...Vincent Kompany
“It is just that when everyone in the team is on the same page it allows individuals more opportunity to play to their own level.”
And the recipe for the improvement in the goals against column is no secret.
“We work every day to make sure we get better and we knew that when we went 1-0 up against Chelsea last weekend we had the confidence that we would be able to defend that lead,” asserted Kompany.
“Kolo is very experienced and so am I now. There is certainly no lack of knowledge in the defence. For his part Kolo looks really fit at the moment and when he is at his fittest he is amongst the best defenders in the world.
“It is too early to say how good we can get as a pair but it is important that we keep working hard and keep accepting every new game as a challenge with the same targets and we have to make sure that we concentrate for the whole the ninety minutes and you are only as good as your last game.
“We want to make sure that no team comes to Eastlands and starts as favourites.”
