Enzo Maresca watched his side score five times at the Etihad and still found something to grumble about. Not the three conceded. Not the chaos. The fact it wasn't 1-0.
That preference, reported by the Manchester Evening News, says more about City's head coach than any touchline celebration ever could.
Four days after the 5-3 win over Sunderland, Maresca's reaction was telling. The eight-goal thriller maintained City's perfect Premier League start, but the Italian made clear he'd have taken a scruffy single-goal win if offered.
You can see his point. Seven days before Sunderland, City had done exactly that at Old Trafford. Phil Foden's red card left them a man down for more than an hour, Maresca altered his side at half-time, introducing Iliman Ndiaye for Rayan Cherki, and Erling Haaland's second-half goal secured a 1-0 victory. Gritty. Controlled. Maresca's blueprint.
The Sunderland game was anything but. Enzo Fernandez, Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo twice and Haaland supplied the five goals, but City never established the sort of control their coach craves. Semenyo explained why afterwards.
Sometimes it is going to be like that, not every game you can control, and especially with a physical team like Sunderland, you just have to ride the waves.
He added: 'There were so many duels in the second half, much more than the first half. So, yeah, I think we just had to ride the wave. I think we rode it.'
That's the trade-off. City won the duels that mattered, scored five, and kept their perfect start intact. But Maresca's preference for the less spectacular scoreline hints at a deeper demand: he wants dominance, not drama.
The 1-0 at Old Trafford showed City can grind. The 5-3 against Sunderland showed they can outgun. Maresca knows which one he trusts more.