Sentence:  City look stronger, fitter and more motivated than last season and even at this early stage the gap feels like a sizeable advantage. Yes, it is way too early to make snap judgments about the impact on the title race. It has, however, been long enough to ascertain that Manuel Pellegrini's team are going to make a much better <WSD>fist</WSD> of it this time. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An attempt at something.