Even those well-acquainted with L'Equipe's oft-controversial and over-reactionary player ratings will have been surprised at how the French sports daily rated the performances of Manchester City's players against Paris Saint-Germain.
Yes, City endured a frustrating evening as they fell to a 2-0 defeat in Paris on Tuesday, but overall they put in a pretty good display. They controlled large chunks of the contest and created plenty of chances. It just wasn't to be.
A measly rating of 3/10 for Kevin De Bruyne was just laughable.
The Belgian did not have his finest outing, but we should not forget he has recently returned from a niggling ankle injury sustained at Euro 2020. While he has shown flashes of brilliance this term, he is understandably yet to reach his top form.
Yet even when De Bruyne is clearly still not at 100%, isolated moments of genius make him a player who rarely goes a game without astounding spectators and peers alike.
His only goal of the season so far, City's first in the 6-1 defeat of Wycombe Wanderers, was a brilliant curler into the bottom corner after he cut in off the left-hand side. The directness of his running and passing and the fear he instilled in the opposition during that Carabao Cup tie was something City painfully lacked in his absence.
On Tuesday, despite having a fairly average game, he did what all the best players do and created something from nothing.
Spotting Raheem Sterling in space on the edge of the six-yard box but at a poor angle to put in a conventional cross, De Bruyne dispatched the most exquisite of lofted balls with the outside of his right boot, placing just the right amount of spin on the ball so as to make it impossible for the defender to intercept, but not too much to make a headed effort on goal difficult.
Sterling's header hit the crossbar, but De Bruyne could not have served his teammate any better.
At the risk of stating the obvious, it's no coincidence that City's best performances during Pep Guardiola' s tenure have more often than not involved De Bruyne playing amazingly well. He was instrumental in City reaching the Champions League final last season, his goals in the quarter and semi-finals swinging tricky ties in his side's favour.
In the 3-1 win at Chelsea in January, when he played as a false nine, he was immense, later reprising the role as the season progressed. On those occasions when City are struggling or under pressure, his teammates turn to him for guidance, for an other-worldly cross or through ball.
As Guardiola explained after De Bruyne's excellent display against Wycombe, it should be no surprise that he takes time to move through the gears post-injury.
"Kevin needs time for a proper pre-season", he said. "He needs his rhythm to be fit. That’s why it was so good for him to play 90 minutes.
"He is not in the right condition, but now is the moment for Kevin to start to be ready. He has not been running back like he runs forward. Today he did it for the first time. He will be back because he is an incredible player."
Already though, De Bruyne's quality is shining through ahead of a tough test against Liverpool on Sunday.
The number 17 has made 5.83 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes in all competitions this season according to FBref, an average that ranks him ahead of all his City teammates.
Other areas of his usually stellar game still require improvement. In six appearances he has only scored once and provided no assists, while a pass completion rate of 66.4% is the worst in the squad and well below where he and Guardiola would like it to be - even allowing for De Bruyne's capacity for more ambitious passes always being likely to hurt his overall percentage.
These things will come with time, especially following a four-month period in which De Bruyne has suffered three separate injuries with little game time in between. Unfortunately, time is not a luxury the player or his teammates have with Jurgen Klopp's men lying in wait.
De Bruyne is not at his best yet, but if City are to get a result this weekend at Anfield - a stadium they have recorded only one league victory in since 2003 - then they will need him to be closer to his peak than he has been so far this season.
A 5/10 L'Equipe performance should do the trick.
How long do you think it will be before De Bruyne is back to his best for City? Follow City Is Ours Writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
