Around the concourses at Anfield, those Liverpool fans who had beaten the farcical queues and new security screenings to finally get in would have seen a creative midfielder pulling the strings for his new team.
They would have seen on the big screens that, after a £34million move, Rayan Cherki is on red-hot form and was sensational as Manchester City made it eight wins in a row after a bedding-in period and fitness concerns plagued his start on these shores.
Liverpool fans, therefore, might have been wondering when their own new attacking midfielder would start to trouble the scorers with some goal involvements.