A litmus test, a barometer: however Manchester City framed and described one night in Madrid during the preamble is irrelevant but that they came through is a major moment in the arc of a new team.
The way that one-goal lead was defended, how Josko Gvardiol emerged as the senior defender to steer them home. Or how they broke with Jeremy Doku. Or how Rayan Cherki intelligently recycled possession to slow proceedings down.
A defeat would have been almost meaningless in the Bernabeu, City primed to go through regardless and the likelihood that two victories in more comfortable final matches would secure a top eight spot anyway.
But Pep Guardiola was keen to see how this new team reacted on the biggest stage, in a hostile environment against a wounded Real Madrid.
Six of the starting XI for the limp surrender here in February, when City deservedly exited the Champions League, were either not picked or have left the club.
This is a new City, a vibrant City and one that left the Spanish capital having statistically created more chances while knowing that the performance was not their best.
That is a tremendously nice position to find themselves in, to realise that there are several other levels to reach. Guardiola is a firm believer in learning how to emerge victorious and places great weight on occasions that can be influenced by history and culture.
That Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland’s goals did just that – lifting them to fourth in the table – will provide some muscle memory for plenty of players who have not done all this before.
When Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium comes around later in the season or when they need to go to an Anfield against better Liverpool opposition. Or the Allianz Arena or maybe even the Bernabeu in the later knockout rounds. Then they may think back to this night and remark how useful it was.
When those come around, Nico Gonzalez can fall back on how he manfully held the fort when the system offered him little help. O’Reilly can learn from very slight positional errors but take even more heart and confidence from his reaction. Cherki knows he can toy with the continent’s finest.
It really was a night that gives hope of much more important ones to come. ‘There are many good things, I am so pleased for the players for the soul and how they run,’ Guardiola said. ‘Five, six or seven players came here for the first time and we had to live that experience.’
As they gathered in the centre circle at full time, the celebrations did look as though the players and staff felt a wave of positivity and belief flow through them – while understanding the situation and injuries engulfing the ‘Kings of Europe’.
Guardiola twice went to the away end with gusto, the travelling supporters kept behind and serenading his unused substitutes going through gentle jogs later on.
City will play better and they will have to play better if this is going to be a successful campaign at home and abroad. Praise for the way they settled after the Rodrygo goal but criticism for struggling to find their feet from the off. Praise for carrying a constant threat going forward but criticism of wastefulness around the box.
Yet Guardiola will feel that can come. He talks about the teams that win silverware being those who grow into campaigns and City are learning on the job with each other a bit at the moment given new faces and an altered style.
‘Still we are not ready,’ Guardiola insisted. ‘Still not. In February we’ll be better. We have been here in the past playing much better, and we lost, right?
‘And games in Manchester where we played beyond [good], and the game should be over, knockout games should be over, and at the end coming here is always difficult.
‘I take it, the players made an incredible effort, an incredibly good result, the spirit is unbelievable, but still margin, margin to improve.’
The truly encouraging things will be their body language to certain situations against Real – proving that they know exactly what is required of them under Guardiola’s new regime with Pep Lijnders.
Cherki asking Haaland to make a different run when they broke free early on. The Frenchman covering his ears when Matheus Nunes didn’t clip him through over the top. The sea of hands going up when Gonzalez played square instead of forward on the break.
These little tweaks, when City become fully in tune with each other, will yield more goals and that is not a bad given their 35 goals scored in the Premier League is easily higher than anybody else. The way Ruben Dias gave Gonzalez a pronounced pep talk shortly after half time after an error indicates that they care about personal improvement for the good of the group, with the Spaniard then re-focusing.
Guardiola wants more, although even he – with these ridiculously high standards – can recognise the importance of chalking up a win like this.
