The best moment of this game came 13 minutes from time, and will almost certainly be forgotten to history. Savinho brings down John Stones’s long ball with his chest and lashes the ball home, and of course this is the part that matters: Manchester City 3-1 up and safe at last. There is no Fifa Best award for “Greatest Chest Control of the Year”. But there should be.
It was, quite simply, one of the great chest touches. The perfect spot on the breastbone: not too much rib, not too much nipple. Just the right amount of give in the torso to send it forwards, not up or down: the ball not so much cushioned as sprung. Because now the ball is sitting up beautifully, and Simon Mignolet can probably do better at his near post but that’s hardly the first time we’ve said that.
