It was late on Wednesday evening when Manchester City announced Frank Lampard would be staying until the end of the season, a decision which, understandably, has angered those in New York who fully expected him to be lining up for New York City FC during their inaugural season in the MLS.
The politics of that deal have been well documented, with a number of NYCFC fans suggesting they now feel duped having bought season tickets fully expecting him to be one of their marquee players, but the City fans in Manchester won't care one bit. The former Chelsea man is having a wonderful season and continues to make vital contributions as they chase a third Premier League title in four seasons.
He scored the winner in City's 3-2 win over Sunderland, the latest in a growing list of goals that are impacting the title race considerably. It's one that sits neatly alongside an equaliser against Chelsea, a goal that wrapped up three points at Hull and a winner against Leicester City last month.
Quite whether anyone could have foreseen the impact he's had is doubtful, but his influence should not be underestimated. At 36, he can't play every game, with Manuel Pellegrini tending to use him sparingly, but his ability to arrive in the box at the right moment and score goals remains as impressive as ever.
City, though, will be concerned about letting another two-goal lead slip just days after Burnley left the Etihad with a point after looking dead and buried. A 25-yard strike from the impressive Yaya Toure opened the scoring after Sunderland had frustrated City for the entire first half, and an audacious backheel flick from Stevan Jovetic, Pellegrini's only fit forward, made it two.
City, at that stage, looked dominant, but once again, they managed to relinquish control. Two former City players brought Sunderland level—a superb Jack Rodwell header and a penalty from Adam Johnson—with the home side suddenly looking on the ropes.
But Lampard's header after a superb cross from Gael Clichy sealed a vital three points, which draws City level—for the time being at least—with leaders Chelsea at the top of the table.
Clichy has embodied the City renaissance better than anyone else in the squad. Since the November international break, they have won 10 and are unbeaten in 11, a run that has turned their season around. Clichy, who was struggling badly at the start of the season, looks a player reborn, offering both defensive solidity and attacking brilliance.
Pellegrini believes his side have cut out the mistakes that were hampering them before the turnaround in form.
"For different reasons, we had a low performance around two weeks," he said.
"We were not playing so bad in that moment, but we made important mistakes, and when you make mistakes, the score is not what you want.
"After that, we arrange again in the way we were playing. Important players return to their normal performance, and I am very happy with the way we are playing now. We have so many injured players, but we arrange in different ways and continue winning."
He also singled out Clichy for praise, particularly his part on City's second.
"Normally, I don't like to analyse individual performances, but Gael made good moments in the second goal. He is an important player, same as Aleks Kolarov. We have a squad, and all them will be involved in the competition as far as we can."
City's current form suggests Chelsea, who have looked superb for much of the campaign, will not be allowed to run away with the title unchallenged. Without key players who are set to return soon, City have found a way of winning consistently. They are in ominous form and will be looking forward to 2015 after a wonderful run of results have changed the complexion of their season.
Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.
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