Fernandinho rediscovers perfect Man City role to get his dream ending

Fernandinho was the last to trudge down the tunnel at half-time as Manchester City tried to process one of their worst 45 minutes of the season that had left them a Liverpool goal away from blowing the title on the final day. A second or more behind everyone else on the pitch summed up his performance.

Injuries to others had given the 37-year-old the chance of a golden end to what has been a glittering career at the Etihad, and there were no signs of creakiness when he stepped in for Ruben Dias against Newcastle, or in a 5-1 demolition of Wolves.

An injury picked up in that game seemed to have ruled him out of facing West Ham, only to recover like a man half his age. The problem in East London was that Michail Antonio exposed him for what he is: a veteran midfielder filling in at centre-back.

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With Nathan Ake apparently unfit to start for a fifth consecutive game, Pep Guardiola opted to keep the departing skipper as Aymeric Laporte's partner rather than welcome back John Stones with the England international moving in at right-back, Joao Cancelo moving to the left, and Oleksandr Zinchenko benched.

Before the first half was up, Fernandinho had struggled so much that there were legitimate questions over whether a player who was being honoured with a celebration on the pitch after the match should be allowed to see his final appearance out with dignity.

It didn't look like that would be the case when he was hooked at half-time and then Philippe Coutinho put Aston Villa 2-0 up with less than a third of the game to go. However, a man who deserved a better ending a club he has given everything to, got one.

Just as he has done as club captain