It was hardly a surprise that Manchester City's makeshift starting XI couldn't generate much of a tempo in the first half against Sevilla on Wednesday.
With seven changes, and nothing to play for, City went through the motions in the first period as Sevilla sat deep and restricted space for the Blues. Rafa Mir's opener for the Spaniard's barely mustered a response from the Etihad crowd more focussed on shielding from the rain and there was no spark to ignite a flat atmosphere.
That was until Rodri came off the bench for Jack Grealish at half-time, followed by Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Joao Cancelo. Pep Guardiola may not have wanted to use any of those players, but they undoubtedly changed the game and proved their importance to the Blues.
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Guardiola said Grealish was City's best player in the first half, and he was substituted to save his legs for the upcoming Fulham game as well as to solidify a youthful midfield of Phil Foden and Cole Palmer. By moving Foden back out wide and giving Palmer more protection, City's shape was much better and also allowed Julian Alvarez more space to drop in where Foden had been.
When Bernardo replaced Gundogan, the midfield energy was increased further, and Kevin De Bruyne's introduction proved the difference between the sides on the night - his wonderful assist for Alvarez showing why he remains City's most creative option.
The changes were all logical, and giving Foden and Palmer some midfield experience was an opportunity Guardiola will rarely get, but the collective performance showed that City's second-choice midfield is still some way off the first-choice trio of Rodri, Bernardo and De Bruyne.
Gundogan is out of contract in the summer, and De Bruyne is 31. Foden's future may lie in midfield, and he arguably played better there against Sevilla than he has done previously, however Wednesday's game highlighted the need for a quality midfield reinforcement as one of the next transfer priorities.
Kalvin Phillips would surely have played if fit, and he can boost the midfield ranks after the World Cup, but a Gundogan replacement will be needed in the next few transfer windows, and further ahead, so will a replacement for De Bruyne.
Likewise, Sergio Gomez's disappointing night proved the need for full-back to be an area of interest in the coming transfer windows. Joao Cancelo should have been given a full night off after playing all of the games so far this season, but was a late substitute for the impressive Rico Lewis.
Maybe that was just a chance to give Lewis a deserved standing ovation, or maybe he had simply run out of gas on his first senior start. Surely the plan will have been to use Josh Wilson-Esbrand as a replacement for Lewis, though, with a bit of a defensive reshuffle. Instead, Guardiola replaced Gomez with Wilson-Esbrand, as the Spanish left-back was poor (twice) for Sevilla's goal, and was regularly out of position to the frustration of his manager.
Guardiola walked to the opposite end of his technical area when Gomez was replaced, before pointedly moving back to the half-way line to pat Cole Palmer on the head as he was replaced at the same time. If this was meant to be a chance for Gomez to redeem his Copenhagen red card, he didn't take it, and it would be a surprise to see him again before the World Cup.
Lewis played well, but still needed some help from more experienced teammates, which is to be expected for a 17-year-old debutant, and he isn't yet a full-time cover option at right-back. With Gomez faltering at left-back, a more permanent solution to City's full-back shortage will be needed, along with the need for a new midfielder.
The fact that key men were required off the bench to effectively bail out their back-up options shows that lack of depth that will need addressing in the transfer market.
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