PEP Guardiola gave his players three days off and told them to forget about football at the start of the week.
Manchester City's stumbling stars have either misunderstood their manager or are suffering from terminal amnesia.
Because they certainly couldn't remember how to play when they ran at Villa Park, a season on the slide plummeting to new depths.
Beaten for the ninth time in the last 12 games – anyone suggesting two months ago would have been led into a room with padded walls – and losing eight on the trot.
The manager who was almost unanimously hailed as the best in the world has now suddenly insisted he is not good enough.
A points tally lower than at any stage in the last fifteen years, and a return over the last eight games worse than that of the entire Premier League bar, as bad cellar boys as Southampton.
No wonder Guardiola claims sleeping and eating have become a problem.
But not half as much as winning is clear.
Oh, and if that's not bad enough, there's also a bit of salt to pour into the wounds… Villa Park's main destroyer was a man whose footballing days also started in a City shirt.
Morgan Rogers never pulled on a first-team shirt before joining the endless list of young talent having to forge a career elsewhere. And he doesn't even half do that!
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Rogers has fought a lot against his old employers, that's for sure.
Generally straight through the center of their defense.
For the way he selflessly pinned Jhon Duran for the dagger-to-the-heart opener and then the spin-and-shoot drive for their second.
So much for that break, which was the inspiring spark you hoped for, Pep.
City could even have been behind within 20 seconds.
Josko Gvardiol's ball back to keeper Stefan Ortega, in for the battered Ederson, never threatened to get close to its goal.
Instead, Duran jumped like a dog on a piece of ham, his eyes lighting up at the clear path in front of him.
His sixth goal in six starts was coming until Ortega did well to push the deficit aside. A close shave for City.
But once they were off the hook, she should have been shaken from their slumber. Well, it didn't happen in the slightest.
Lucas Digne shot over the corner, Ezri Konsa stooped to score a header at the near post and Ortega scratched the ball from under the frame of his goal.
Replays showed that most of the ball had already crossed the line, but crucially not all of it.
Villa didn't have to wait long until there was no more arguing.
Although in reality City could hardly have shown them a more direct route if they had put up signs saying 'this way to goal'.
All it took was three quick, sharp and clever passes and Ortega plucked the ball from his net.
First from goalkeeper Emi Martinez to Youri Tielemans, and then with a killer ball through the middle of the Villa midfielder.
This time Rogers was the one who rode flawlessly.
But when he could see the white of the goal, he hit it straight at Duran, who ended up in a gaping goal.
Whether the Colombian would have been as happy to beat his teammate given a role reversal is doubtful.
Villa was certainly happy that Rodgers gave him a present.
Despite City seeing so much more of the ball, it was difficult to argue that Unai Emery's side didn't deserve the lead.
Possessions count for little if you don't do anything with them and Pep's boys rarely did that.
However, Villa were a threat every time they went forward.
Duran was ruled out for a second for a hair's breadth offside and Ortega was forced to produce a get-down-low stop that was every bit as impressive as his first minute to deny Rogers.
Once again, City's former young hopeful didn't have to wait long before putting things right.
This time skipper John McGinn was the architect, dancing his way across the champions' backline, swinging right, stepping left and certainly on the verge of shooting.
Instead, however, he rolled a square pass to Rogers, who allowed the ball to get over him before driving it back into the opposite corner and past Ortega.
As for City's moments to remember? Well, there was a low drive from Phil Foden in the first half where Martinez did well to push behind.
Then there was Gvardiol's trademark late arrival in the penalty area, when he couldn't get above Jack Grealish's cross and could only tap over the top.
Oh, and we can't forget that injury-time lifeline from Foden when he finally found his way back to goal – for the first time this season – to give City hope.
Weak, and not for long, as is the case.
You never thought it would be anything else. And certainly nothing other than a home win would have been fair and just.
Pep, as always, stood in front of the City fans as the home fans taunted him with chants that he would be sacked tomorrow morning.
Even in the middle of this crisis, you would still dismiss that as unthinkable.
But the fact that it looms as a vague possibility in the vision shows how bad things have become.
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