At first glance, there was nothing unusual about how Pep Guardiola deployed Phil Foden in Manchester City's 1-0 win against Brentford on Wednesday evening.
The 21-year-old took up a central position in the front three with Jack Grealish on his left and Gabriel Jesus on his right, a role he has often taken up this season instead of his usual left wing berth.
When the team news came out at 7.15pm, most City fans and pundits assumed that Foden would be operating as a false nine — again that would have been nothing out of the ordinary.
Yet very quickly it became clear that Guardiola had new plans for his superstar teenager. Instead, Foden was playing like an orthodox striker.
Given the absence of a striker in City's squad and Guardiola's propensity to deploy what is perhaps now his trademark tactic, it has become common practice to label any player who starts in the middle of City's front three, and isn't a striker by trade, a false nine.
This is simply not true, as the concept is defined by what the player does on the pitch rather than preconceptions about where they usually play.
On past occasions when Foden has started in the number nine role, he has dropped deep to receive the ball, pinged diagonal passes into the half-spaces and drawn centre-backs out so to create space for the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva to run in to. In these instances, he was a false nine — a 'striker' who played more like a midfielder.
Against Brentford, he was a striker who played like a striker. Guardiola has spoken in the past about Foden's instincts in front of goal, how his movement and shooting ability makes him on of City's most potent and dynamic forwards.
At the Brentford Community Stadium these traits were witnessed in all their glory.
When Kevin De Bruyne laid the ball out to Joao Cancelo on the right wing and hung back in the right half-space, Foden knew what to do. He could tell from his Belgian teammate's positioning that a cross was about to be whipped towards the six-yard box, and that he had to get there.
With the slickness and guile of a seasoned poacher, Foden ghosted in behind Pontus Jansson, slipped the offside trap set by the Swedish defender and coolly slid home a first time finish.
Moments after half-time he got the better of Jansson again, through pure instinct and intelligence. At 5ft 6ins Foden is nine inches shorter than the Swedish defender, yet he nipped in front of him at the last second to send a glancing header, from another magnificent De Bruyne cross, just wide of the far post.
Foden found the back of the net once more from inside the penalty area, this time a superb header from a Gabriel Jesus cross, but the fact that he was a good yard offside showed that there is still room for improvement.
As City sought to establish greater control late in the game to stave off any dramatic Brentford comeback, Foden became a false nine once more, dropping back from the front line, keeping possession with his mazy dribbling and drawing fouls.
But for a good 75 minutes we saw a Foden that we'd never seen before. The ability to play as an out-and-out striker is further proof that Foden is the most talented and dynamic player of his generation; he cannot be pigeon-holed as a winger, number eight or false nine because he can do it all.
It is unlikely that Foden is auditioning to be City's number nine on a more regular basis, with the likes of Erling Haaland and Dusan Vlahovic tipped to join the Blues next summer.
But what last night's game showed us is that Guardiola has found yet another way for City to hurt teams. Before his departure to Barcelona, Ferran Torres was the closest thing City had to an orthodox striker. Now that he's gone, Foden is taking up the mantle.
If he can replicate his Brantford outing again, then long may it continue.
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