City in good Kompany

Vincent Kompany claims Manchester City 'haven't started too badly' in their defence of the Premier League title.

The City skipper has helped Roberto Mancini's men win the Community Shield against Chelsea, while they have collected seven points from a possible nine in their opening three league fixtures. Kompany has been pleased to get early points on the board, although the five goals conceded in the three matches are a slight cause for concern for the powerful defender. City were romping to victories this time last year and their backline was virtually water-tight so Kompany is hoping that they will improve on that record in the coming weeks. He told the club's website: "We have had some really good periods in games, but there are areas we need to work a bit harder on. We're not dismantling teams at present like we were at this stage last season. "Everything was flying in this time last season so we were effectively winning games earlier and making things easier for ourselves. "We generally give very few chances away, but when we have so far in the opening weeks, we've been unlucky because teams have punished us, though I think we have defended well overall." Kompany, who scored and helped Belgium keep a clean sheet in Friday's opening World Cup qualifying 2-0 win against Wales in Cardiff, is currently preparing for Tuesday's home clash against Croatia.