Pep Guardiola told Manchester City fans who doubted his various tactical experiments over the years that he makes his decisions using the wealth of information available to him that supporters simply don't see.
In short - and phrased respectfully - the manager knows more than the rest of us. Few can argue with that, and Guardiola has earned the right to tinker and be called a genius when it works.
One thing Guardiola openly admitted to not knowing, however, was how the World Cup would affect City. Two months on from the World Cup final, and only now can Guardiola really say all of his City players are 'back'. Now he knows everything.
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61 days since Julian Alvarez lifted the game's greatest prize, the Argentine was on the bench at the City Ground, in the Blues' first visit since 2001. Three days on from beating Arsenal to haul themselves back into the big title race and Guardiola went strong again. This was as close to Guardiola's pre-World Cup team as he's fielded in the 14 games since the season restarted.
Riyad Mahrez has been one of the strongest players since the break but was dropped to the bench against Nottingham Forest to facilitate the return of Phil Foden from injury. Other top performers since Christmas, like Rico Lewis, Manu Akanji and Nathan Ake were also among the substitutes.
On the pitch were a back three of Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Kyle Walker - all players who took longer than others for different reasons to return to form. Kevin De Bruyne's place is no longer guaranteed after a poor World Cup may have had its after-effects, and Bernardo Silva has had to play at left-back to return to the starting XI.
At the start of 2023, Guardiola went with form over reputation when it came to picking his side. Lewis, Ake and Akanji enjoyed runs in the side, as did Alvarez and Mahrez. None of those have done anything wrong, but it feels significant that City are looking back to their title-chasing selves with an experienced spine back in the line-up.
To have Laporte and Dias together again at the back, and all of Bernardo, De Bruyne, Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan in the same team is a huge bonus, while Jack Grealish is finally adding the goals and assists to his consistently good performances all season. Mahrez isn't a poor option on the right, although the return of Foden gave City something they've lacked in recent weeks.
As a more direct option - as Guardiola alluded to on Friday - Foden was at the Nottingham Forest defence from minute one, getting behind them regularly but finding the cross or cut-back blocked by a number of bodies in the way. Still, he had Renan Lodi's number, and needed little time to rediscover his form after a run of just four starts in 13, resulting in just one FA Cup goal.
It was Foden's corner, too, that found its way to Jack Grealish and then Bernardo Silva to give City the lead. While Haaland and other senior players were guilty of missing huge chances, Foden can't be blamed for the dropped points in Nottingham.
Foden's return gives Guardiola something he's lacked since the World Cup. A squad with no more out-of-form senior players. The likes of Walker, Dias Laporte, De Bruyne and Bernardo have all overcome any post-World Cup issues, and now Foden has too.
That will reduce the pressure on Ake, Akanji and Lewis, allowing them to be rotated in when required rather than being relied upon. It's the squad dynamic that will make City stronger in the long run, and crucially, keep the pressure on Arsenal in a title race that shows no sign of easing up after another twist on Saturday.
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