Pep Guardiola apologised to his Manchester City substitutes' bench after they beat Manchester United because he didn't turn to any of them.
"I don't like to not play them," he said. And he may be apologising to them more often going forward.
That's because if City were in the Champions League final tomorrow, he would arguably pick the same starting line up he named at Old Trafford. There were no weaknesses, and the 11 players who completed the 90 minutes executed Guardiola's game plan to perfection.
Essentially, Guardiola has nine undroppable players as he prepares City for the busy festive schedule.
He will need his other 10 players at regular times over the coming two months, with 12 games in 41 days after the international break, but for the next 'big' game, you can be confident of certain players being present.
Ederson is a fixture in goal, while Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo have locked down the full-back spots this season. Ruben Dias is an obvious pick at centre-back.
Rodri has kicked on superbly this season to ensure Fernandinho is playing largely a watching role as captain this season, and Bernardo is on course to be named City's Player of the Season alongside the ever-class Kevin De Bruyne.
And the performances of Phil Foden against Liverpool and Manchester United among others have justified his continued selection on the left, while Gabriel Jesus has always been a big-game player and he now has a position in the team to show it.
That leaves just two positions for the rest of the squad to fight over - at centre-back and the false nine position.
John Stones was faultless alongside Dias at Old Trafford and will be the incumbent at the back going forward, even when Aymeric Laporte returns from suspension, and Ilkay Gundogan rolled back the years to ensure he will be difficult to displace in midfield.
However, if there are any positions that the rest of the squad will hope to replace, it will be those two.
Stones, Laporte and Nathan Ake will fight over the remaining spot in the back line, while Aleks Zinchenko may have to rely on games when Walker or Cancelo are being rested. Likewise, Fernandinho will only play when Guardiola decides Rodri would benefit from a day off.
The final forward position could go to any one of Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Ferran Torres, with the flexible nature of the squad meaning and of the other midfield or forward players can play in multiple positions to accomodate others.
Technically, add in Zack Steffen to compete with Ederson and that's 11 players competing for the final two spots in Guardiola's strongest team.
City have built their success on a competitive squad with a rotation policy that keeps everyone fresh. At the same time, Guardiola insists that good performances will see a player keep the shirt.
After the Old Trafford statement, the opportunity for those substitutes to get on the pitch in the biggest games is becoming a much more difficult task.
Especially if those starting are so effective that Guardiola doesn't feel the need to make any substitutions.
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