Pep Guardiola labelling Manchester City's current situation as an emergency has all the hallmarks of a hoax call.
Now it does, anyway. It did not an hour before kick-off, with six first-team stars left back in the North West for different reasons and only two senior outfielders on their bench.
Guardiola was not kidding when suggesting that the lengthy absentee list constituted something of a crisis earlier in the week – even for such a ludicrously talented squad. He was perfectly justified in fearing that an upwardly mobile Aston Villa, with the impetus of Steven Gerrard, could represent trouble.