Our Under-21s head coach was in charge at the Etihad following the departure of Enzo Maresca earlier in the week. Our task against Pep Guardiola’s side – who had won eight home league games on the spin - was made harder when Robert Sanchez and Wesley Fofana pulled out before the game through injury and illness respectively.

Tijjani Reijnders put City ahead but we responded in the second half, helped by a change in shape and personnel McFarlane explained afterwards. Our attacking threat meant Enzo Fernandez’s last-gasp equaliser was not against the run of play.

‘I’m really proud of the players and how they performed, especially in the second half,’ said McFarlane.

‘Young players in those moments may crumble, but they were exceptional second half. We deserved a point minimum. We could have won the game. We had some big chances and big moments in the second half.

‘We didn’t expect them to shape up the way they did in the first half, so they had a lot of control,’ added McFarlane. ‘We were getting pinned back with Estevao and Pedro [Neto] having to defend in a back five at times, which meant they had so much control and rhythm. That’s not how we wanted the game to look.

‘We made a change at half-time to go more man for man against the ball, and to be able to get more pressure to disrupt their rhythm and hopefully force them to go a little bit longer.

‘Andrey Santos was exceptional. He really controlled the middle of the pitch. In and out the possession the shape change and the sub really helped us. Liam [Delap] gave us a really good outlet to go more direct and occupy the centre-half.

McFarlane continued: ‘We can talk about that, but the most impressive thing was the players. One-nil down at the Etihad, players falling ill on the day of the game, all the change, for them to regroup and take that information on and execute it speaks volumes about the characters we have at this club.’