It has become foolish to criticise Pep Guardiola when Manchester City teams are announced because any complaints are usually outdated by the end of the game.
But concerns over Fabian Delph against Tottenham proved valid, and the question surrounding the sight of Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane coming on for the final few minutes was why hadn't they been on earlier?
The regular overlooking of Sane, certainly, is causing concern for some fans. The German is pretty much the only signing seen as integral to the club's future that is yet to commit to a new contract, and seems to be going through another spell out of favour with the manager.
Despite scoring a brilliant winner in the must-win Premier League game with Liverpool at the beginning of the year, Sane has been benched for subsequent games with Arsenal and Chelsea in the league, the Carabao Cup final, the FA Cup semi-final and now the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
If Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling have indeed been in incredible form, seeing him overlooked when David Silva and Riyad Mahrez do not appear to be in any better form has been curious.
De Bruyne's omission from the starting XI was less surprising given he is still working his way back into form after an awful season with injury, but it was a surprise to see him only brought on with minutes to change the game.
Scrutinising one game in isolation can be problematic though, and an argument could be made that the trip to Crystal Palace was in the manager's mind when he picked his team at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tuesday was only the first of three matches with Spurs over a two-week spell and was realistically the least costly one to lose.
However, any defeat requires a certain level of inspection and the nature of the performance - and the lack of recognition for the travelling support at the end - left fans more critical than they are used to being.
Two decisions that would quickly appease would be to start both De Bruyne and Sane at Crystal Palace. The pair are two of the more popular members of the squad, thanks in no small part to them being two of the most exciting to watch on the pitch.
Defeat to Spurs in Europe and Liverpool's Premier League form puts even more pressure on the Blues to deliver in the next three games, and De Bruyne and Sane are both capable of producing magic to instantly send momentum coursing back through the club after just a second loss in the calendar year.
If there is no safety net for City to fall back on in the second leg of their quarter-final, Guardiola can at least restore the optimism with his Selhurst selection. Play well and they can take confidence into the must-win Champions League game in the week. Fail to take their chance and the manager will not face the same outcry if they are benched again for Tottenham.
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