Will the pundits mention that Everton scored after the ref failed to give a foul on Aguero? Will the media point out that City should have been awarded at least one penalty in the first leg and in a recent league game? No, it’ll all be about the ball being out of play for City’s second. “The ball went out of play, boo-hoo. If they had done their job…”Martinez will bleat on about using technology rather than take responsibility for his team’s loss. It’ll be newsworthy until they realise they are in danger of sanitising football.

If we’d been given a pen in this game and that game we’d be top. If.

We started with a Christmas tree formation, on realising that the baubles and lights were packed away in the loft, the only thing Christmas I want in January is Navas on the pitch whose introduction along with Duke De Bruyne saw in the new year with Sir Taggart in the stands notably watching the action rather than staring at his phone. He has not seen such rich entertainment in 11 straight games at the swamp.

If the Rags had Pelligrini instead of a mutant ninja. If.

In the preamble I wrote “Our player selection shall prove crucial”. Rarely has a manager got his substitutions and his tactics so exactly right. Talk of his being substituted for Pep after this season seems an inexactitude. I like his understated manner; he’s a gent and very ‘important’.

Sometimes we’ll cock-up but that’s part of being a City fan, the roller-coaster ride; so roll on Villa for our next exiting instalment.

If. We have a saying where I come from: “If? If my aunt had bollocks she’d be my uncle”.