Rodri knows. He spent 12 months with Diego Simeone and the next three years in England, so telling Koke over the international break exactly what Manchester City expect came from a place of certainty.
‘We live many games like this in the Premier League,’ Rodri said to his Spain and former Atletico Madrid team-mate as they traded barbs before this intriguing Champions League quarter-final, one with all the bubbling anticipation such an occasion deserves.
City are fully aware of what is coming: stubbornness with bells on but a lingering threat as well, the potential to be undone by one bad pass against opposition who only really fancy leaving their half when they know there is ground to steal and goals to pinch.