Two minutes of utter mayhem brought below-par Manchester City a crucial win at Arsenal.
An open-goal miss from Gabriel Martinelli, a red card for Gabriel Magalhaes and then a penalty tucked away by Riyad Mahrez brought a swing in fortunes on a day when the Blues had been second-best.
And just when it seemed ten-man Arsenal would earn a point, Rodri snatched a late winner to clear the last cobwebs of hangover from the delirious travelling fans.
From being on the brink of going two goals down, City were suddenly level and facing ten men - but could not drive home their advantage, until the game moved into added time.
Still, the hard-fought win means that the Blues have opened up 11 points on Chelsea and 12 on Liverpool, and they can put their feet up and enjoy their two title rivals scrapping over the right to challenge them on Sunday afternoon.
City rode their luck at times, with Nathan Ake’s excellent goal-line clearance proving crucial, but after a weary December, taking a barely-deserved point at the home of the revitalised Gunners was enough.
Perhaps it was inevitable that after a scintillating 2021, the Blues would begin the New Year in such a lethargic fashion - the hangover after the champagne football.
But the signs were all there - a less than convincing performance at Brentford three days earlier, more players falling to injury or illness City won’t say which - with Phil Foden and Aleks Zinchenko the latest suspected Covid victims.
And with a 12.30 kick-off necessitating a stay in a London hotel on New Year’s Eve, it all added up to the sloppiest display City have produced in a long time.
At half time, a goal down, they looked more like taking a hiding than fighting their way back into the game, but somehow they dragged out reserves of resilience and strength to get back in it.
By contrast, Arsenal were sharp, lively and all out for revenge for their 5-0 mauling at the Etihad at the start of the season, although Mikel Arteta was denied a touchline reunion with Pep Guardiola by his own dose of Covid.
The full backs especially suffered as Joao Cancelo, who bravely declared himself fit to play less than 48 hours after suffering a head wound in a nasty robbery at his home, looked like a man with his mind elsewhere.
He was run ragged by the lively Gabriel Martinelli and Kieran Tierney, with the Gunners clearly targeting him and Nathan Ake, standing in for Zinchenko on the left.
Kyle Walker was back on the bench but after nearly a month without any action, Guardiola felt this was not the moment to throw him back in.
City fans were heartened to see Rodri back in the starting line-up, but he had caught the general malaise, looking sluggish and unprepared for the Gunners’ high press.
That was a bold move from Arteta, but he knows Guardiola, and his players, better than anyone, and perhaps gambled on the circumstances combining to mean the Blues were off the pace.
City hardly got into their stride in the first half, although Gabriel Jesus headed just past the post, and Ruben Dias went even closer with a glancing effort from a smart Raheem Sterling cross.
At the other end, Arsenal were swarming all over the City defence, who at first defended well enough to deny clear-cut chances.
They survived a close penalty call when Ederson raced out to tackle Martin Odegaard - he clearly got some of the ball and ref Stuart Attweell’s on-field decision as that he took the ball before swiping the Arsenal man’s foot from under him.
VAR Jarred Gillett had a long look, but replays were inconclusive, they could find no reason for over-turning Attwell’s call, and City breathed a sigh of relief.
It did not last long as more sloppy stuff from City gave the ball away in Gunners territory and with the Blues in full retreat, Kieran Tierney produced a cute ball into the box and Bukayo Saka came off the wing - where he was giving Ake all sorts of problems - to sweep it into the net.
Martinelli was exposing Cancelo’s defensive frailties, and his mental state, on the other side and he twice swept past the Portugal international and curved shots narrowly wide.
For once, City had no response, all they could do was hang on until halftime and hope they could re-group after the break.
They did just that, and when VAR again got involved in a penalty call, it again worked in their favour.
When Bernardo Silva wriggled into the area and twisted past Granit Xhaka, it initially looked like he had thrown himself to the ground in the hope of a penalty.
But replays showed he had a surreptitious handful of Bernardo’s shirt, and when Gillett invited Attwell to take a look, this time he spotted it and it was a penalty.
Arsenal tried a spot of gamesmanship to unsettle Mahrez before the spot kick, as Gabriel was booked for scuffing up the penalty spot, a blatant piece of gamesmanship which resulted in scuffles that had Attwell speaking to both captains.
Mahrez, unfazed as always, stuck it into the corner and the Blues were, undeservedly, level.
That was the start of two minutes of mayhem, as Aymeric Laporte tried to head back to Ederson, not realising his keeper had come racing off his line. The ball sailed over him and was going in until Ake darted back to clear.
The Gunners still looked odds-on to score, as the clearance went straight to Martinelli, but he somehow hit the outside of the post, with the goal at his mercy.
From the goal kick, Jesus tried to turn past Gabriel, and his big countryman blocked him off, his second bookable offence, and he was off, his penalty shenanigans coming back to haunt him..
That spell seemed to have turned the game on its head, and Guardiola responded by taking off Jesus and replacing him with Ilkay Gundogan, a master at exploiting space and time.
City dominated territorially after that without ever truly threatening the Arsenal goal, and it looked like they would have to settle for a point.
But a ball into the box was not cleared, and Rodri was on hand to slide his shot beyond Ramsdale.
It was a big, big moment in the title race, the kind of incident, when a team has not played well but digs out a victory, that makes champions.
