Enzo Maresca has spent the opening weeks of the season shuffling his midfield. After five straight Premier League wins, the answer appears to have settled on a £125m signing and a 23-year-old summer arrival from Nottingham Forest.
Enzo Fernandez took the individual honours in City's 5-3 win over Sunderland, a game that turned into an open contest and saw Brian Brobbey score three times for the visitors. The scoreline flattered nobody. But the result kept Maresca's perfect league start intact.
Fernandez opened the scoring after nine minutes at the Etihad, his free-kick catching goalkeeper Robin Roefs out at the near post for his first City goal. He made his presence felt in midfield and was named man of the match by the club.
His developing partnership with Elliot Anderson was another feature of the afternoon. City described the combination as a burgeoning one, and the numbers back it up. Anderson completed more passes than any other player on the pitch.
The pair had already started together in the 1-0 Manchester derby victory at Old Trafford, a match City spent mostly with ten men after Phil Foden's first-half red card. Anderson was named City's man of the match that day for an industrious performance in difficult circumstances. He played every minute of Sunday's win too, having taken the individual honour in the derby.
Maresca has now started the same pair in two very different Premier League matches. One was a derby away from home, a man down, scrapping for a clean sheet. The other was a seven-goal shootout at the Etihad. City found a way to win both.
Between those two league fixtures came a Carabao Cup tie against Norwich, where Maresca made ten changes. The midfield was not the same. The result, presumably, was not the priority.
Fernandez had already produced an impressive performance at Old Trafford before his Sunderland display. Anderson has been similarly prominent. The 23-year-old has quickly established himself in Maresca's plans following his summer arrival from Nottingham Forest.
Two games is not a season. But City have a midfield axis now, and Maresca has something to build on.