Haaland stood over the ball as the referee glanced once, then blew the whistle.
And again, they were off.
Haaland tapped it to De Bruyne, who played it back to Stones—and immediately jogged forward, City's tempo ticking up a gear.
It wasn't panic, it was more of an assertion.
A reminder that one goal didn't dictate a game.
From the sideline, Guardiola shouted something sharp in Catalan, compressed urgency with no panic behind it.
He made a downward gesture with his palm, and City complied.
The ball moved like breath—left to Gvardiol, in to Kovacic, around to Nunez, then to Foden, who drifted centrally with Bernando overlapping outside.
Arsenal, on the other hand, narrowed their setup.
It was like watching two chessboards layered on top of each other.
But it was De Bruyne who disrupted the shape.
A feint, followed by a sudden pause and then a pass, immediately put Foden on a path to goal.
The Englishman didn't waste time.
