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Thirty-six games since, the title race is dangerously moving away from becoming a test for Manchester City. For over an hour, it seemed like they could blink well in their fierce fight against Liverpool.
It took something to give and Pep Guardiola's players certainly played with the emotions of their fans during these passages of play when they were not sure of touching usual.
Except that, of course, it is the team whose fans love to sing the way they will "fight to the end". The team, which has already won the league with the latest kickoff of the season. City even has a bar at the Etihad Stadium – "The 93:20", as it's called, to commemorate the contribution of Sergio Agüero on this occasion and here he is, seven years later, achieving vital goals and to show that he is the man of great opportunity. No wonder Guardiola was so laudatory in his praise. "Aah, he is a legend," said the city director.
Agüero's last goal places him alongside Alan Shearer as the only two players in the Premier League to have scored 20 goals or more in six different seasons.
However, the most important detail concerns what this goal means for the title race, a day Liverpool fans, an hour later, would have dared to think that the momentum was about to change dramatically .
Instead, it turned out to be City's twelfth consecutive victory in the league, restoring their one-point lead over Liverpool, and if they could extend that streak to 14 in their last two games by beating Leicester at home then Brighton Jürgen Klopp and his players can not do anything about it.
Agüero, in particular, seems absolutely determined to achieve this goal and, when the last story will be told of what could still be a national triplet for City, a special mention must be made of this moment, after 63 minutes of control. Bernardo's delivery blocked James Tarkowski in Burnley's penalty area and swayed his left foot to the ball.
It was the first time that Tom Heaton in Burnley's goal could not get in the way of City shots in goal. Matthew Lowton blocked the ball on the goal line, but there was a reason why referee, Paul Tierney, felt a buzz on his wrist.
It was the technology of the goal line allowing him to know that the momentum of the balloon had prevailed on the line. At another time, Burnley could have learned from it. Not here, though. Twenty-nine millimeters, to be precise.
Burnley was a clumsy and uncompromising opponent and City did not always look like a champion on hold, especially in the first period when even a few "soles" of local supporters during their periods of possession. OK, they did not even reach half a dozen passes before City found the ball. However, it was a clear sign that the game was not playing out as Guardiola and his players wanted.
Perhaps they lacked the elegant touches of Kevin De Bruyne. Perhaps they are not so smooth when Fernandinho is absent. Or maybe it turned out that they were not immune to the nerves, after all.
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Whatever it was, it was strange to see Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané play with so little threat in the first half. David Silva did not have his usual influence. Bernardo Silva, such a charming player, was more efficient when he switched positions against Sterling, but Heaton had only two chances to save his team. Even then, they were a routine task rather than genuine moments of danger.
At one point, Oleksandr Zinchenko had the balloon at his feet and a moment of carelessness let it slip for a questioning. A short time later, Sané could be seen shaking her arms angrily after Agüero, who was back in despair at being able to move things, surpassing a pass. Sané had regained his place after a brilliant substitute performance in City's victory at Manchester United last Wednesday, but he struggled to keep where he left off and was replaced immediately after the goal.
The best chance of the first half fell on Burnley when Kyle Walker lost his footing and the ball went from the defense to the front and Jeff Hendrick took the opportunity to score on goal. Unfortunately for Burnley, Wood was not so attentive to the possibilities. His contact was heavy and Ederson was fast from his goal line to avoid danger.
After the break, however, City put his opponents in a period of almost incessant pressure. They should have had a penalty when Ashley Barnes raised his arm to stop Bernardo's shot and, at 1-0, he needed a brilliant clearance from Ben Mee's goal line to prevent Sané's substitute, Gabriel Jesus, to double in advance.
Guardiola later noted that his team had not conceded a single corner and, as a result, had mastered Burnley's fixed-play threat.
But the end was still tense and his state of mind could probably boil down to his decision to replace Agüero by John Stones, then to bring another center, Nicolás Otamendi, for Sterling. "I was shaking," said the city director.
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