In his fury at the fixture list handing Manchester City a competitive game just four days after the World Cup final, Pep Guardiola had threatened to play his academy prospects and "some physios" against Liverpool six weeks ago.
He had even suggested that he and Jurgen Klopp could get their boots out for this game, while on Saturday he was still throwing daggers at the "big brains" of football for coming up with this schedule.
But the City boss has never been able to resist the lure of a trophy and his decision to field a strong side against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup fourth round went down well with everyone in attendance at the Etihad. Well, almost everyone.
