Manchester City's search for their title-winning formula took a step backwards with another nightmare defeat at Tottenham.
It was City's slump in the reverse fixture back in January that prompted Pep Guardiola to go to extraordinarily lengths in demanding more from the whole club in his post-match interviews, and eight unanswered goals since that have brought three victories and renewed hope that whatever kinks had been causing the City machine to malfunction had been rectified. But while City's record at this stadium is so bad the fixtures can almost be written off as guaranteed defeats, there were enough concerns from previous games that mean this cannot be taken as a one-off.
Guardiola cut an unhappy figure throughout on the touchline as his team not only missed a chance to pressure Arsenal at the top of the table but, more importantly, failed to show what they are capable of on the pitch.
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It had started relatively brightly too, after the now-traditional unpicking of an unconventional lineup. It felt very much a Guardiola quirk to pick two right-backs in his starting XI in the week that the club allowed Joao Cancelo to go on loan to Bayern Munich - where he has two assists already.
Midfield was even more interesting: when City played Spurs at home a few weeks ago, Guardiola lamented the lack of leaders to defend Rico Lewis from getting kicked. Here, the manager left his captain and vice-captain on the bench to give a very unfamiliar feel to the midfield.
There were of course tactical reasons cited before kick-off, and you could argue form as well. This is not the first season Guardiola has made big calls in his lineups either, and there was controversy even in this stadium back in 2019 when De Bruyne was barely used off the bench in defeat.
However, it still felt like the act of someone still trying to find that response he wanted when he bemoaned 'happy flowers'. City remain in transition, and the way out of that isn't necessarily linear or orthodox or clear.
To be fair to them, City started like the home team. They racked up 84 per cent possession in the opening 15 minutes and pressed superbly, squeezing Spurs to within an inch of their resistance as they looked destined to make their possession count.
Central to their dominance was Bernardo Silva, a player overlooked in recent weeks but who possessed all of the hunger, passion, and skill that the manager had been crying out for. Would this be a turning point?
It did not look that way in minute 15 when, having caused Spurs so many difficulties playing out from the back, City imploded as Rodri passed a ball from his own box that was never on. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gleefully intercepted ahead of Rico Lewis, then squared for Harry Kane to score.
Guardiola threw a bottle of water to the floor, Lewis threw his arms in the air, and the message was shared: what on earth have we done? Whether you're thinking of any previous meeting at this stadium, the most recent game between the two at the Etihad, or most of the 2019/20 season, City fans had seen this sorry story too many times before.
For all the promise of the opening, mistakes change matches. At that point, the cameras fixated on a benched De Bruyne and the good start this XI had made had been forgotten in favour of a narrative that pinned the selection as wrong rather than Rodri's error adding to a long line of glaring mistakes from this fixture from a City player.
The goal launched Spurs into life though, with a crowd that had started quietly now roaring to celebrate a record-breaking Kane and giddy that their hoodoo over City could be continuing. The home players took it up a level too, even if that meant Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero getting booked for leaving too much on Lewis and Erling Haaland respectively.
As the half went on though, it became clear - as had been apparent at the Etihad - that this Spurs team, even full of energy, are not much. They remained there for the taking, but frustratingly the service to Haaland and others simply wasn't there.
Two moments in the final minutes summed the half up: first, Rodri played a crossfield ball from the halfway line straight out for a goal-kick - you will find it hard to win games when your holding midfielder is so below par. Then, after Julian Alvarez had dallied for far too long in the box Grealish actually found Mahrez ... only for the Algerian's volley to smash the underside of the bar and bounce clear.
Many City fans will have been tempted then to write the game off as another in the line of weird Spurs defeats, yet it is the job of Guardiola and the players to fight through those setbacks if they are to challenge for the title. It doesn't matter if Arsenal drop points if City cannot take advantage, while United are now only three points behind in third.
The point made after beating Spurs at home is that there are only so many times you can come from behind before it catches up with you. As the second half unfolded in North London, this felt like the latter.
Jack Grealish battled hard and should have had more protection from another of the Premier League's 'elite' referees, Andy Madley instead allowing foul after foul on the former Villa man to go unpunished. City's frustrations boiled over so frequently with Madley that Ederson was booked before the end of the game after another bad decision.
The official could not be blamed though for how little City tested Hugo Lloris - a keeper who always has a howler in him - as they chased an equaliser, nor for how badly they defended for the goal. This is what the Blues need to wake up to if they are to really threaten Arsenal.
Nobody is suggesting that the refereeing in this game or in recent weeks has been any good - how nice for Howard Webb to now admit that the officials will probably never allow another goal like Bruno Fernandes's in the derby again! - but it won't do City any good to spend so much of their time being frustrated by these calls.
They weren't terrible against Tottenham, but they weren't good enough to claim that defeat was harsh on them. Until that indifference changes, it is hard to imagine City having anything to be excited about come the end of the season.
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