While the Etihad celebrated Manchester City earning vital breathing room against Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola called his assistants together to debate their next move.
This was a night when Guardiola was at his most animated. He was rarely out of his technical area, guiding his team in minute detail to an outstanding performance that just oozed class.
It was a statement of intent from the Blues. It will take a serious team to stop them in the Champions League this season, or one of those bonkers nights they can sometimes throw in.
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And it had Guardiola's fingerprints all over it. After Bernardo Silva's second goal Rodolfo Borrell and Enzo Maresca entered into a heated discussion with Guardiola. When Borrell left the scene Maresca continued to make his point. At one stage he had both hands on his boss' chest as they decided what to do.
As the players returned to their own half Guardiola waved across Rodri and recent substitute Julian Alvarez for some new instructions. The state of the game had changed so the approach had to as well.
It was that kind of night at the Etihad, where the action on the touchline was nearly as fascinating as the action on the pitch. I say nearly, because the quality of football in terrible conditions was breathtaking at times.
Guardiola has regularly suggested that opposite number Thomas Tuchel is one of the best managers in the world.
On Monday afternoon Guardiola has suggested his opposite number Thomas Tuchel might be the best manager in the world. Takes one to know one. And they do know plenty about each other.
Sometimes the raw statistics don't tell us the whole truth. There is a perception that Tuchel is, if not Guardiola's kryptonite, then someone who can give him a sleepless night. That Champions League final in 2021 when Tuchel's Chelsea beat Guardiola's City is part of the narrative and that was Tuchel's third success against Guardiola in six weeks.
But that golden period for the 48-year-old German is actually the only success he has tasted against Guardiola. Aside from those three wins, there have now been seven defeats and a draw. Of managers Guardiola has faced at least seven times, Antonio Conte, Jurgen Klopp, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nuno Espirito Santo, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti have a better record against him than Tuchel.
They do share a very mutual appreciation, however. A few hours after Guardiola's praise of Tuchel on Monday, the Bayern boss was so effusive in his praise of Guardiola that he had to quickly clarify "I'm not a fanboy". You couldn't blame him if he was.
Their history dates back nine years, to a meeting in Schumann's Bar in Munich, before Tuchel had even left Mainz, when they shared their footballing philosophies over several hours. They are alike in many ways, deep thinkers about the game, capable of extremely creative tactical solutions and some remarkably baffling ones.
They also share a manic intensity on the touchline. Within a couple of minutes Guardiola had let rip at Bernardo Silva for giving the ball away (that wouldn't happen again) and Tuchel had slapped his hands together when his own team did similar. The Bayern boss spun away from the action when Serge Gnabry's poor lay-off wasted an attacking opportunity. Guardiola spent most of his time instructing John Stones where to be.
The dreadful Mancunian weather wasn't deterring either manager from spending the game on the edge of the technical area, bracing the elements to try and micro-manage the game. It had felt like something of a soggy stalemate until Rodri's moment of brilliance prised the game open.
Tuchel reacted furiously to that setback. He had packed his midfield to stop just that scenario. It was Jamal Musiala who was closest to Rodri, but he was turned too easily. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka then failed to get close enough and although the finish was sublime, it felt preventable. Tuchel clearly felt so.
Guardiola's reaction to the goal was to drag Manuel Akanji into the technical area and issue some instructions as to how stop the Bayern flow down that side. As Bernardo returned to his own half he was also collared by his manager.
It was the pace on the break that was Bayern's biggest weapon and you could tell it was something that concerned Guardiola. Every time a pass out found one of Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman or Gnabry with space to run into Guardiola would drop to one knee on the edge of his technical area. Maybe he was asking for divine intervention, but City's work rate meant they consistently got players back to fill the gaps.
Bayern's best spell came early in the second half, but they flirted with disaster at times as well. When Yann Sommer twice fluffed clearances in his own box to hand City openings Tuchel stood there impassively, shaking his head. When Musiala failed to match the desire of Jack Grealish in a battle for the ball he went ballistic at the teenager and hauled him off a few minutes later.
Guardiola was living every kick of a brilliant game. When City gave themselves breathing room he entered his debating society with Maresca. When Erling Haaland put the tie on life support with his inevitable goal he returned to the dugout and finally took the chance to take a breath. It was a well-deserved sit down.
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