Even with Liverpool’s surprisingly slow start to this campaign, their results were still the first checked by Manchester City every weekend.
City believe Jurgen Klopp’s are the only other side in the Premier League capable of going on monstrous, season-defining winning sequences and – despite a 13-point gap before Sunday’s defeat – remained insistent that Liverpool posed the most credible threat in this title race.
In a respectful assessment of their rivals, Pep Guardiola said as much on the eve of a day that turned ugly, with the enchanting game eventually relegated to mere sideshow.