Are Man City 'the best English club ever?'
In the bright sunshine at Etihad Stadium, Manchester City looked and indeed were perfect. The sparkling football was on show from the start and it was a question of who would step forward to be the star this time.
Phil Foden stepped, sprinted and jinked forward. It could have been Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol... or indeed literally anyone else on the roster - except the goalkeepers, but you would not put it past them if they put their minds to it.
They are a grinding, yet beautiful, winning machine. Four titles in a row runs off the tongue easily enough, but even with the money spent and the questions hanging over them from the authorities, it is still incredibly hard to do it, and to do it in such style.
So are they the best English club team ever? Well, it is the same club but not the same team.
Four years ago, they had the likes of Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan and Oleksandr Zinchenko. They have all been jettisoned.
The core is Pep Guardiola, who has evolved the group and the style while continuing to win. This is what is really incredible.
There has been scarcely a misstep on the journey, though allowing Cole Palmer to slip through their grasp might conceivably become one.
Thank goodness for everyone else he is not still there. With Foden (23) and Palmer (22) in the same team, they would have been set up for the next decade of dominance.
Congratulations, City. You are a joy to watch - but, as a former player, I also understand you must be utter torture to play against.
Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra newsletter
