There was not much between Manchester City and Chelsea on Sunday, especially in the second half, but a little bit of wisdom made a big difference in the end.
The defending champions had much more nous and know-how than Chelsea's young team, and Mateo Kovacic epitomised that experience with his performance in their 2-0 win.
It was even more impressive when you consider he had such huge shoes to fill at the base of City's midfield.
It has become very obvious that City's momentary lapses in their run of four consecutive Premier League titles are generally when Rodri is not playing - they lost three of the four games where he was absent last season.