Tick. Tick. Tick. At the end of this breezy, fun, quietly feisty 2-1 defeat of Fulham, there was even a sense of super-smart design in Pep Guardiola’s onfield displays of affection.
There was a double-hug for John Stones: both hands around the torso plus a final flurry of buttock pats for the key defensive peg on the current eight-match winning league run.
Guardiola hugged Jack Grealish, just because he loves hugging Jack Grealish. With Erling Haaland, who was again sensationally good here, he lingered a little longer in the embrace, all the while rabbiting constantly in the forward’s ear, combining even here the sensual‑but‑fatherly man‑hug with fevered instructions about working the high press.
Is it meant to feel this easy? Even in the tough bits? City are now top of the league for the first time since their second fixture of this never‑ending season.