As tension and drama gripped other Premier League grounds on the final weekend, Manchester City enjoyed a stroll in the sunshine at Brentford.
What could have been a nervy afternoon in West London was instead removed of stress by the form of Pep Guardiola's side in recent months, an 11-match winning streak blew Arsenal away and ensured the champions retained their title with three matches to spare. As was the case against Chelsea and Brighton, City could afford to look to the future while plenty of clubs below them worried about their present.
Some things from Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Brentford could prove significant in the push for the Treble and some may not. The end of the 25-match unbeaten streak in all competitions is significantly softened by the missing personnel; the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and Manu Akanji from the matchday squad should be more help than headache for the manager given all were classed as not fully fit rather than injured.
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Rodri and John Stones were kept on the bench too, while the biggest sign that this game was not hugely significant was the sight of Erling Haaland alongside them - just think how many Premier League goals he could have had if he hadn't been wrapped up since City won the league. The Norwegian will do his best to beat his own benchmark next season, and there are certainly plenty of extra minutes available.
Aymeric Laporte showed his class again in what could be his last Premier League game. The Spanish defender has been linked with a move away after falling down the pecking order and was emotional at the Etihad after the final home game of the season in what was widely seen as a farewell.
At Brentford, he produced a piece of defending in the first half that showed just how remarkable it is that there are four centre-backs ahead of him at City, keeping his cool as Frank Onyeka raced onto a bouncing ball before nipping in at just the right moment to cut out the danger. Minutes later though, he tried to force the play forward to Sergio Gomez when a simpler ball to Nathan Ake was on and had Guardiola tell him to calm it down, in a piece of play that shows why others have moved ahead of him.
Cole Palmer picked up where he left off against Brighton and Chelsea to put together a positive end to a disappointing season. The young forward has struggled with form and fitness all year but got the better of Cesar Azpilicueta last weekend and then was unfortunate not to earn an assist off the bench at Brighton when his cross for Haaland was ruled out for a foul that left Guardiola in disbelief.
Here, the 21-year-old started in a more central role and instantly looked bright, getting a sight of the Brentford goal and was denied late on by Raya again. If he can carry this form into the new season, he will have a much bigger role to play.
By the time Raya denied City an equaliser, Shea Charles was on for his City debut to mean there were four academy graduates on the pitch. Charles won't have enjoyed seeing the ball in the back of the net when Ethan Pinnock stabbed home, but acquitted himself well.
The biggest standout on the day, though, was the smallest and youngest in the team: Rico Lewis. Guardiola has credited the 18-year-old with a major impact on City's season given his success in the full-back role coming into midfield that paved the way for John Stones and others to play it in the club's biggest games of the season.
He was a No.8 against Brentford - showcasing just how versatile he is - but was also almost always in the space that Rodri usually occupies to receive the ball from Ederson and start City's build-up. For someone so new to senior football to be displaying such tactical intelligence so soon in his career and in this team of superstars is battling Haaland for the most astonishing story of the season.
Midfield is an area of concern for City this summer, with Ilkay Gundogan out of contract and the club again not wishing to stand in Bernardo Silva's way if PSG or other clubs can find a suitable valuation. There is also the forever issue at full-back, and even if Joao Cancelo comes back to the club it is hard to imagine he can recover his position in the squad.
Fortunately for Guardiola, he knows he can count on at least one player this August that he couldn't last year because there is no stopping Lewis - someone who is already so in tune with what the manager wants. The teenager has played too well too often to be discarded as a flash in the pan, and follows Phil Foden as another bargain from the academy to complement City's other business in the market.
It seems unlikely that Lewis will have much of a role in the FA Cup and Champions League finals as Guardiola turns to his more senior stars for those games. When the starting XI drops at Wembley next week, expect all of those minor niggles keeping players out of the games since the title win to have disappeared.
As far as Lewis is concerned though, he has become part of City's present as well as their future.
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