At some point Julian Alvarez will go back to being the best Plan B in the Premier League. The thrillingly-talented Argentine forward has lived in the shadows at Manchester City for most of this season.
Most of Erling Haaland 's teammates live in his shadow to be fair, metaphorically and literally, but the Norwegian's enforced absence in recent weeks has allowed Alvarez time in the spotlight. It is time he was used to full effect.
They know a thing or two about Argentine forwards at the Etihad and what Sergio Aguero started, Alvarez is continuing. If it wasn't for Haaland he might well be the most exciting arrival at City for a while, but as it is he has to be patient, something which might not always be easy to accept for someone six months younger than the Norwegian goal machine.
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Haaland's ankle ligament injury has allowed Alvarez to step out of the shadows. His talent is no secret around these parts, but he's shown it to the wider world over the past week.
Pep Guardiola has toyed with the idea of pairing Haaland and Alvarez together on a more consistent basis, a prospect that will give Premier League defences sleepless nights. There are certainly enough differences to make it work.
With City's full-backs providing the width against Chelsea, crosses went fizzing across the six-yard box without someone there to tap them in during the first half. Haaland would have been licking his lips on the bench.
Instead, Alvarez had often been involved in the build-up, dropping deep to link with Cole Palmer and Jack Grealish, especially. He showed his array of skills for his goal, on hand to tuck away a rebound having created the opportunity with a brilliant pass. That meant goals in successive games and this time Haaland was able to keep his feet up on the bench. He didn't warm up with the other subs pre-match and never ventured down the Etihad touchline.
The fact it was a fairly strong side was to be expected, given the respect Guardiola has always shown this competition and the calibre of the opposition, who had Raheem Sterling sitting amongst their substitutes on his return to the Etihad.
City have developed an affinity with this competition, their four-year reign as winners only ending last season. Although its demise looks inevitable, Guardiola is happy to keep playing it, knowing that its death will only allow UEFA or FIFA to find more games to play in its stead.
It was a full house at the Etihad for a third-round tie and they were treated to a spectacular pre-match lights show, the headline act of which was a huge Blue Moon floating above the centre circle, with the actual moon watching on from above the stadium. Presumably, even City can't arrange that.
They did arrange a rapid start though, with Jack Grealish thriving in a slightly more central role. It was a throwback City set-up in many ways, with full-backs Rico Lewis and Sergio Gomez providing the width, and Grealish enjoyed having more freedom to roam centrally.
His driving run and deflected shot won an early corner and he rifled a 22-yard shot just wide shortly after. His burst into the area off a Cole Palmer pass was crudely ended by Kalidou Koulibaly, who escaped with a booking, the angle of the run perhaps forcing Grealish just away from goal. Ilkay Gundogan's free-kick from the very edge of the box was deflected narrowly over. It was a prelude of things to come.
Chelsea did carry a threat, but it was relatively sporadic and thwarted by the outstanding Stefan Ortega. He used his legs to save from Christian Pulisic, who scuffed a shot from a low cross but saw it deflect goalwards off Lewis, demanding quick reactions from City's goalkeeper, who produced a more routine save to spring away to his left and push away Pulisic's shot from the edge of the area after a swift Chelsea break. Just before half-time, it was the legs again, this time denying 18-year-old Lewis Hall.
But Edouard Mendy was certainly the busier goalkeeper and his duel with Grealish was becoming a fascinating sideshow. On three occasions on either side of the break the Senegal goalkeeper denied the England winger, twice stopping curling shots that were heading inside the far post and then producing a sprawling save after a low effort from a short corner.
So when Trevoh Chalobah scythed down Riyad Mahrez 20 yards from goal a few minutes later, with Grealish stood over the ball, Mendy was probably expecting a similar test. Instead, Mahrez clipped the effort goalwards, the ball skimming off the head of Armando Broja and into the back of the net, with Mendy left flat-footed.
After battening down the hatches for 53 minutes, Chelsea suddenly found themselves out of the contest. They spent the five minutes between the two goals on the attack, but when City broke away it was Julian Alvarez who arrowed a brilliant cross-field pass to Mahrez. When his shot was only pushed away by Mendy at full stretch, Alvarez had burst into the box to hoover up the rebound and kill off the contest.
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