Manchester City won.
A 3-0 victory over Wolves was enough to close up to two points behind Arsenal at the top of the table before their match with Manchester United. That was possibly the most concrete takeaway on an afternoon where any attempts to see a grand reaction to Pep Guardiola's furious challenges were always likely to be defeated.
Football is a simple game that City, at their best, do better than almost anybody. And for all your false nines and defensive pivots, there are few things more simple than Kevin De Bruyne crossing a football for Erling Haaland to head home.
Also read: City player ratings vs Wolves
That moment, towards the end of the first half, broke the end of a sticky period of play where they had enjoyed dominant possession (over 90 per cent for the first 20 minutes) yet struggled to click in attack. Within 10 minutes of the second half, Haaland and City had three and City fans gleefully sang of the score in 'the library'.
By then, all thoughts of stodginess had been forgotten. There had been signs before of the issues that have plagued the Blues in recent weeks - De Bruyne's distribution wasn't great, while Rodri looked to be playing himself towards a red card - but three goals saved City from any more serious inquests.
This felt like a better performance from City than Thursday. They had the accuracy to find Haaland, and after scoring really stepped up their confidence levels.
Jack Grealish, excellent throughout, was unlucky not to get a penalty and it was an intelligent run from Ilkay Gundogan that actually earned a spot-kick for Haaland to convert.
When Jose Sa had a meltdown in the same area where Ederson had erred in the week, Riyad Mahrez selflessly squared for the Norwegian to score his fourth hat-trick of an astonishing campaign. Twenty-five league goals is more than the last three Golden Boot winners have finished on, and to be on 31 in all competitions for the season is absolutely staggering.
Perhaps the most satisfying parts of the afternoon came after the hour mark with the score at 3-0 and City's matchwinner enjoying an early (ice) bath. City already had the game done, but kept it that way anyway.
The forwards kept pouring forward, and Mahrez was only marginally offside when he chipped in from another nice De Bruyne pass forward. Julian Alvarez came off the bench and offered his usual brightness.
Defensively, there was evidence of what Guardiola had called for not just in his post-match interviews on Thursday but in his programme notes for this game: fire and desire, on top of guts and passion. Ederson was alert to make a few good stops, while substitute Nathan Ake threw everything at a Pablo Sarabia effort in the six-yard box to deflect it behind for a corner.
Five substitutions were used and all made their mark in the game, with even Cole Palmer enjoying himself on the right wing for the final 10 minutes in what should be a nice boost for him.
It was a committed display that didn't look like the 'happy flowers' Guardiola had ranted about on Thursday. Of the two performances, this one was definitely better.
Then again, were Wolves easier opposition than Tottenham? Quite possibly - they certainly offered very little until they went behind and even in the second half struggled to really threaten.
City have enjoyed some very good performances and wins in the time since the World Cup when the manager seems to have become more agitated about their form. The 3-0 win over Leeds was similar to this, while they have also beaten Liverpool and walloped Chelsea.
The problem has been consistency, meaning there are only ever going to be a limited number of answers you can get from a single afternoon. Repeating this level - if it has indeed been to Guardiola's standards - against Arsenal on Friday night will be a bigger test.
There are also unresolved issues, such as the alarming drop in status of City's two premier full-backs. Kyle Walker worked himself to the bone to make himself fit for England's World Cup campaign, only to come back to Manchester and find himself usurped by an 18-year-old.
Walker was an unused substitute on Sunday despite Guardiola using his full complement of five, and another not to see any game time was Joao Cancelo - previously the most-used player in the squad. For Walker or Cancelo to be out in the cold is remarkable, so for both of them to be left out is incredible - surely City will need them for their wider ambitions this season.
Ultimately, City are still in the position where they have to take things one game at a time. They do not have the form to be getting carried away with themselves but can afford to be more confident after putting Wolves away comprehensively to move up in the Premier League table.
For all the issues they still need to sort, there is no doubting the importance of the six points they have collected this week. While Guardiola searches in the clouds for the ethereal qualities he feels are missing from this group, on the table at least they are making headway in their priority of chasing Arsenal down.
Keep doing the simple things right and the rest, the manager hopes, will come.
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