Pep Guardiola was the first to admit Manchester City got lucky in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Arsenal - a victory that helped to open up an apparently title-race-ruining 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
The Gunners were good value for the first-half lead Bukayo Saka established and, even after Riyad Mahrez equalised from the penalty spot and home centre-back Gabriel was sent off, City failed to play with their usual control and authority.
Then Rodri stepped up to produce an unforgettable stoppage-time winner and a fitting conclusion to a breathless contest.
“Football, unfortunately - unfortunately, because many times it happened [to us] - sometimes the team doesn’t win who deserves it,” Guardiola told BBC Sport.
“Sometimes we try to analyse the reason why but what we do, what we have done, is unpredictable.”
Guardiola was fulsome in his praise for Arsenal’s display, but the famous quote from golfing great Gary Player - 'The more I practice, the luckier I get' - also applies when assessing the key moment in a fortunate triumph.
Automatic positional play
Aymeric Laporte and Rodri combining as an unlikely large-and-large front two looked like an entirely freak occurrence on first viewing.
Indeed, Guardiola himself was unsure over exactly who was involved in the immediate aftermath.
“At the end, one incredible pass from Kevin [De Bruyne] and the fight from Rodri and someone else there and we finish it,” he said.
“I’m someone else!” Laporte boomed, and it wasn’t the only part of his slapstick performance that felt a bit Homer Simpson.
But a review of Rodri’s last-gasp winner reveals City’s relentlessly drilled playing style at the heart of everything, albeit disguised as chaos.
Laporte had gone up for a set-piece that De Bruyne cut back to Joao Cancelo for an ineffective shot.
Normally a centre-back would dash back out of the danger zone as quickly as possible in injury time, but he was allowed to remain as Ilkay Gundogan dropped back into the left-sided centre-back position.
So long as one of City’s many versatile players are filing the necessary positions on the pitch, then the team is stable and they can proceed.
Gundogan received possession from Ederson and was alongside Ruben Dias at the base of the 2-3-5 setup City use frequently when in possession.
He knocked the ball to Cancelo, who was on the outside of that middle three, until De Bruyne dropped back to his lurking position on the right touchline.
That meant there were now four in the middle back as Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva shuffled across in the frontline - clearing the space for Rodri to charge forward into the space created and make it a front five again. The result was a moment of maximum impact and provocation.
Priceless Pep
Within the developing narrative of City ruining the best title race of all time before it even got going due to their bottomless resources and presumed lack of coronavirus cases, it went more or less unnoticed that four academy players padded out the visitors’ bench at the Emirates.
Cole Palmer, James McAtee, Luke Mbete and Kayky got to enjoy a dugout-emptying goal celebration at the end. Their very presence is a reminder that City’s huge squad, which the rest of the league simply cannot compete with, is a myth.
The champions began this season with 19 senior outfield players. One of those is now in Barcelona and another is in prison. It is highly unlikely either will be replaced this month.
This is because City have a lean squad by design. Guardiola prefers to work with smaller numbers in order to make sure all players are fully attuned to his methods and desired style of play.
Rodri and Cancelo are hitting their stride spectacularly after a prolonged period of acclimatisation and we’ll probably be having similar conversations about Jack Grealish a year from now.
For Guardiola, it is better to bring in a player from the academy mid-season to account for any shortfall than to sign someone unfamiliar with the all-important "process".
When everyone - from stalwarts like De Bruyne to previously bit-part players like Nathan Ake - perform the basic principles of play automatically and without a second thought, you get moments like Rodri’s weekend winner.
You can buy the players, often at great expense, but you must coach the required collective excellence over countless painstaking hours.
There are many reasons for City’s recent dominance of English football but a massive squad is not one of them. Guardiola’s genius and his players buying into it absolutely are.
