Recent questions over whether or not Phil Foden was having a good season were fairly conclusively answered by back-to-back goals in the emphatic wins over Norwich City and Sporting.
But the discussion did highlight some of the challenges associated with playing as Manchester City’s false nine.
There is a huge element of self-sacrifice involved — pressing, pulling defenders into places where they don’t want to be and working to help your teammates shine.
The trade-off is you should end up at the business end of the pitch to enjoy a few moments in the sun, as Foden did in his previous two outings.
But the England international did not start City's astonishing 3-2 defeat to Tottenham at the centre of the attack. Bernardo Silva did and it felt like a decisive error from Pep Guardiola.
Ilkay Gundogan’s return as one of two changes from midweek meant one of City’s playmaking talents would be leading the line. Bernardo does this very well.
The problem from this vantage point is that City’s best player this season and arguably the best midfielder anywhere in Europe right now should not be handed a brief that restricts him from hitting these heights.
Kevin De Bruyne relocating his best form — although he blew hot, cold and petulant against Spurs — does muddy matters a little here, with the early season trio of Rodri, Gundogan and Bernardo no longer a lock-in as Guardiola’s midfield three.
But the sight of Harry Kane dropping deep and making merry, most notably on Dejan Kulasevski’s fourth-minute opener but throughout the early exchanges, meant Bernardo was moved away from the area where much of the key action was unfolding.
Tottenham frequently attacked City through the middle.
For all their vast qualities, De Bruyne, Rodri and Gundogan are not a particularly mobile combination. What the situation required was Bernardo, hassling and snapping and getting up in Kane’s armpits if necessary.
Guardiola’s first-half approach was one of multiple moving parts. Foden started on the left but tucked in and linked with Gundogan as part of a ploy to unleash the rampaging Joao Cancelo.
Foden and Raheem Sterling then switched and the latter’s cross led to Gundogan’s equaliser. As ever, there will be multiple threads to examine from Guardiola’s latest tactical plan.
Still, his approach against Spurs is one to file under “needless complication”.
It’s impossible to legislate for the mayhem that unfolded during the final stages and a risible defensive performance requires a lengthy post-mortem.
Moving the best player in the division this season out of his favourite position, away from an area where his tenacity might have nullified an opponent who would always look to break quickly meant City lost the control Guardiola so craves early on and never truly recovered it.
