Nearly six months ago, Pep Guardiola conceded the Premier League title to Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's side finally secured it when Manchester City were beaten by Chelsea on Thursday.
The City boss congratulated Liverpool after clinching their first league title in 30 years but will already be planning how to wrestle back the trophy that has resided in east Manchester for the last 25 months.
Here, Goal looks at five things that Guardiola could consider...
Bring in a central defender
Sporting directors across Europe are uncertain about how the transfer market will react to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on football finances, including City's Txiki Begiristain.
Guardiola wanted to bring in a number of new faces before the sport was shut down, but if the plan has to be overhauled, a central defender has to be top of his wanted list.
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The departure of - and subsequent failure to replace - Vincent Kompany at the end of last season, coupled with a long-term injury to Aymeric Laporte, exposed a lack of depth in the squad and has seen them already ship 10 more goals than last season with seven games still remaining.
Veteran Fernandinho has stepped in well to help out in an unnatural position and academy product Eric Garcia has emerged as an exciting young defender of huge potential.
But the consistency of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi remain a concern and City look short of a dependable centre-back at the top of his career to partner Laporte in the big matches.
Finish the season strongly
Liverpool's first match as champions is a visit to the Etihad Stadium and Guardiola's side can send an early message that the new title holders won't have it so easy next season.
There will be plenty of niceties before the game, with Guardiola showing his respect to Klopp on his achievements and the probability of a guard of honour, depending on safety measures.
Following that, City can remind their opponents about the quality in their squad as well as put a dent in Liverpool's hopes of bettering their achievement of being the only team to reach 100 points in a season.
Not only that, the Champions League remains a possibility and while the defeat at Chelsea again exposed City's defensive problems, they are still capable of beating any of the sides left in Europe, Real Madrid included.
"I had the feeling after Liverpool won the Champions League they were incredibly focused," Guardiola said after their success was confirmed. A first Champions League triumph for City could have a similar unifying impact on his own players.
Sort out the full-back issues
Guardiola has spent close to £150 million (€166m) on full-backs during his time at the club but Kyle Walker, now 30, remains his only consistent performer in the position.
Left-back has been the biggest problem position and that situation has not been helped by two long-term knee injuries suffered by Benjamin Mendy. City have limped by without a proper back-up, first with Fabian Delph while Oleksandr Zinchenko has emerged as a steady alternative.
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But Mendy is still striving for consistency and his error in the defeat at Chelsea proved costly, particularly as City were dominating the first half at Stamford Bridge.
The 25-year-old's attacking threat shows why he was brought in, but he needs more stability to match the impact of Liverpool's dynamic pair of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who are so influential on their side's success.
On the other flank, summer signing Joao Cancelo has not put the pressure on Walker that Guardiola will have wanted and that could lead another a fresh face coming into the squad.
Trust in Foden
David Silva is leaving at the end of the season and Guardiola can save a substantial amount of any readjusted transfer kitty by giving more opportunities to Phil Foden.
The City boss has no doubts about the 20-year-old's quality and the Stockport-born midfielder is ready for even more minutes.
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Guardiola has carefully nurtured Foden's development over the last three years, although he has already managed to make 64 appearances for the club.
The England under-21 international has six goals and seven assists from his 28 appearances this season and is involved in a goal on average once every 91 minutes.
He is fearless on the pitch, although his inexperience will no doubt lead to mistakes as his game develops. But after learning from playing alongside Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan regularly in training, Foden should now get more responsibility.
Make De Bruyne the leader
Kompany's exit was keenly felt in the City dressing room when he left 12 months ago and they will lose another prominent leader when Silva quits at the end of this season.
The Spanish playmaker may be quiet on and away from the pitch, but around the Etihad Campus and amongst the first team he is a hugely respected and influential voice.
De Bruyne is the obvious choice to take on the armband next season, with the Belgian already having had a major impact helped in part by his big performances on the pitch.
His energy and determination so often set the tempo and City cannot afford any let up if they are going to close the gap on Liverpool.
Turning 29 on Sunday, De Bruyne is in the peak of his career and his intelligence and maturity are making him a serious candidate as a potential Ballon d'Or winner. Any hopes would be further enhanced if he can lead City back to glory.
