They may have kept a club-record sixth consecutive clean sheet away from home, but frailties remain for Manchester City. Any side who give Middlesbrough chances are far from watertight.
And that is why City risk crashing out of the Champions League this week, as they go to Monaco with a precarious 5-3 advantage.
Pablo Zabaleta let his guard slip when he used that very word —risk — as he assessed the apparent improvement at the back. 'We know as defenders we're always trying to play from the back and it's a risk,' said the Argentinian.
So why take such risks?