They rarely make light work of the weeks before Anfield. There is always something. A bizarre quirk, but Manchester City never seem to prepare for Merseyside with the clearest of minds.
This was the third strange European night during the days before Liverpool away in four seasons. And given they do not often have too many of those, it is some coincidence.
The odd performance, and weird fever dream of a game, evoked memories of 2019, when Ederson suffered an injury, Claudio Bravo saw red and Kyle Walker ended up with the gloves away at Atalanta. Ederson missed the 3-1 defeat that weekend.