There was no Pep Roulette, no overthinking, and no pre-match wondering about the formation. At the Bernabeu, Pep Guardiola simply named his strongest Manchester City side available, didn't make a substitution, and the 11 players chosen produced one of the most mature City performances in years.
It was exactly the opposite kind of night that City have come to expect in Europe, but maybe it's a sign that Guardiola and his players are learning from their long list of self-inflicted Champions League exits at the perfect time.
When Real Madrid visit the Etihad next week looking to remind City who the real kings of Europe are, Guardiola will likely name a very similar starting XI to Tuesday night - and if they reach the final he would surely pick nine or ten of the side who played at the Bernabeu.
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With an FA Cup final to factor in as well, this stage of the season is usually when the majority of City's squad are used during the run-in and fighting for a place in a final-day decider or a final in one of the cup competitions. This season, Guardiola's go-to XI for the big games appears relatively certain.
Some players are nailed-on to start a big game regardless of when it comes in a season. Erling Haaland's goals speak for themselves, Kevin De Bruyne is a man for the big stage, Rodri underlined his importance on Tuesday, and Ederson showed his quality at the Bernabeu with three top-quality saves (remember when there were calls for him to be dropped because he didn't produce the match-saving stops like David de Gea?).
Ederson could be benched in the FA Cup final to reward Stefan Ortega's performances as cup goalkeeper, but that doesn't mean he's not first choice. For those four players, if they didn't start at Wembley and potentially in Istanbul a week later, something will have gone wrong.
Then there are the likes of Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish, who have both had to fight for their places this season, but have timed their form well to prove reliable to the manager in the big games against the world's best opposition. Just look at how they relished their battles with Vinicius Jr and Dani Carvajal in Madrid.
Normally, Guardiola picks between one of Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan to partner De Bruyne, but in the biggest games this term he has picked all three to play in the same midfield as Rodri. Add the reliable Grealish into the mix, and the quintet have started ten games together this season - including the Champions League last-16 second-leg against RB Leipzig, both legs against Bayern Munich, twice against Arsenal and most recently at the Bernabeu. City have seven wins and three draws from those games.
That does mean that Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden have to drop out, but the control offered by Bernardo out wide clearly outweighs their creative spark. Having Haaland upfront to aim for also helps mitigate the directness lost when Foden and Mahrez don't play.
Dropping back to defence, it seems that John Stones and Ruben Dias have won the battle to be the first-choice centre-back pairing for the big games. They have started together in nine of the 11 games since the March international break, partnering each other in Madrid and against Arsenal, while Stones was tasked with a dual centre-back and defensive-midfield role in other games like the double-header with Bayern Munich. The only games they haven't both started were games directly after the Bayern away leg and before the Madrid trip.
Stones' newly-discovered versatility into midfield offers some flexibility for the upcoming Premier League 'finals' and actual finals, however they do look like Guardiola's first-choice defenders.
So that leaves just one defensive spot left to decide if Guardiola has a midfield and forward line effectively decided. Nathan Ake seems favourite to start at left-back when fit, although Manu Akanji's form there cannot be overlooked. As solid as Walker has been, maybe he could drop out for Akanji or Stones to cover right-back depending on how Guardiola wants to approach the next big game City face.
Plenty is made of City's never-ending squad full of world-class internationals. Maybe, though, they will approach the final six (or seven) games of the season with a first-choice XI that only has one or two places left to be decided.
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