The counter-falling goal of Ebereechi Eze for Crystal Palace was the obvious way in which the Underdogs would score in the FA Cup final.
Fans of Man City can claim that it was clear that Dean Henderson Erling Haaland also refused a clear chance of scoring goal.
But what is not clear at the moment is how Man City returns to their dominant levels of the past.
This “horrible” campaign, as Haaland called it, suffered the last blow with the FA Cup loss of Wembley. It could get even worse, with City now having to pick itself up for Tuesday's must-win match with Bournemouth, seeing how Chelsea and Aston Villa have exerted the pressure in the race for a top five finish and Champions League football.
A season that could be somewhat stored by a FA Cup victory and sealing a place in the European top club competition could swing to be really disastrous in the room of four days.
It is eight years since Pep Guardiola the first and only other season without a big trophy in Man City. “I will certainly get better. This season was a lesson for me,” he said at the end of that fruitless debut in English football.
City then won six of the next seven league titles. Guardiola triggered the game in this country in a revolution in this country, tore records and dominated his opposition. Learned lesson.
But are the answers so clear this time?
City is entering a new chapter. Kevin De Bruyne, the figurehead of so much success of the city, will be on the way to the outside, soon to follow Kyle Walker through the output door. The latter Wembley -appearance in city colors was a sad way to draw on the big stage; It can be a really low if his last home game in Etihad goes in the same way on Tuesday.
The recruitment team looks at young blood. That was certainly the tone of their large spending winter window, which brought, among other things, the arrival of Omar Marmoush, who will now help shape the attacking patterns. Florian Wirtz would be an ideal addition to that forward area, but it is unclear whether he will choose City above Bayern Munich.
A season in which Haaland stays fit would also be useful. With him in and down this period, the attack of the city of Sputter is made. They scored 96 times in the Premier League last season. This year, with two more games, they are only 67 managed. A blank with degraded Southampton and now against Palace underlines the point.
Without De Bruyne, City needs a new main assistant to stand up. Guardiola has already experimented with different ways. The sight of four center-backs that have been strung across the field was again conceived with Nico O'Reilly and Matheus Nunes that ride under the flanks of the flanks; A box of midfield was used to try to get control of competitions; A 3-3-4 in possession, with O'Reilly that from left-back inside, was the last idea on Saturday.
Guardiola has played an endless game with his rivals and his methods adjusted, just as they pick out his game plans. But where he goes afterwards is not clear.
A season without the funds of Champions League football would make the path to that following idea more complicated. World Cup obligations of the club can also, useful, postpone and shorten the time to map it before the new season comes.
Of course, nobody predicted such a drop-off from this city side when they were at Wembley to lift the community shield at the start of the season. Injury to Rodri turned everything upside down. Set it back well will not be as easy as welcomes him back in the fold.
The Spaniard is “much, much better” according to Guardiola, who is waiting for the kink of the club doctors to re -introduce him to the action by the first team. But there is no guarantee that it will be just as influential and impactful as before. Or not immediately, at least. The severity of his knee injury should not be underestimated.
There must be similar questions about how much more Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan should give in that middle part of the field. Defending transitions has been a problem throughout the season and Crystal Palace – among the masters of the escape – heats the city again in their weak spot.
Abdukodir Khusanov and Vorror Reis, two more young recruits in January, can renew the back line, but have had no immediate impact. Their integration seems, just like the rebuilding of the city, that it requires time.
Guardiola has registered for that reconstruction and committed two more seasons in November. Can he come up with another big idea, another series of solutions?
After one of the most difficult seasons of his career as a manager, he faces one of his biggest challenges.
But there is no time to think about. No time to wallow in this FA Cup defeat. The next must-win match is only a few days away. Guardiola said that a FA Cup victory and the qualification of the Champions League would not save their season. They now have to save a top-five finish of saving …
View Man City vs Bournemouth Live on Sky Sports Premier League on Tuesday from 6:30 pm; kick -off at 8 p.m.