And so to Anfield.
That always had to be the case after this game, but the teamsheet pretty much confirmed where Manchester City heads were at even before it. Pep Guardiola left Phil Foden, Nathan Ake, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva on the bench in arguably the heaviest rotation he has allowed for a Champions League knockout game.
Not that you could instantly tell. Manu Akanji met a Julian Alvarez corner on the half-volley early doors to turn in the opening goal before goalkeeper Kamil Grabara allowed Alvarez's effort through his hands; nine minutes in and the tie was dead.
Rico Lewis tried to get the rhythm back into his body after barely featuring in 2024, Josko Gvardiol stepped in for his first game back since injury and young Oscar Bobb was given another opportunity for his sharp brain and twinkling toes to dazzle. If it all felt very much like a warm-up to Sunday's main event, probably because it was.
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Erling Haaland is not half as interested in the match circumstances though as he is in putting the ball into every opposition net he comes across. Despite the weakened line-up, the Norwegian got his goal on the stroke of half-time to restore the four-goal aggregate cushion and celebrated with a leap and kick into the air.
The goal was significant for City because it moved the tie back away from FC Copenhagen after slack defending had allowed Mohamed Elyounoussi to slip into the box and finish a fine team move. It was also goal number 41 for Haaland in the Champions League in just 37 games, equalling Sergio Aguero's tally in the competition in 42 fewer matches.
It is easy to forget the scale of Haaland's phenomenon, so absolutely monstering the record of City's best ever scorer is a handy reminder. When Guardiola said the club could never replace Aguero he was only half-right.
A sixth goal for Haaland in this season's competition also keeps him at the top of the scoring charts, something that he will have his eye on. In a rare media appearance before the game, the No.9 accepted he had missed a lot of chances this year but was happy to point out that he was still clearly unrivalled among Premier League goalscorers even given two months on the sidelines.
If he is top of both charts come the end of the season, City will have a decent chance of retaining each competition. Whether they are good enough to remains firmly unknown though and was never going to be answered here.
What is clear is that City are still not defending as well as they did last term. Another poor moment meant that they have only kept one clean sheet in eight Champions League games this season, which is surely not sustainable as they progress through the tournament; last year they kept at least one clean sheet in all four knockout rounds.
That said, in all eight games this season they have scored at least three goals and a team that scores three every match is going to take some beating, however leaky their defence can be. Something will have to give at some point, if the footballing laws are to be kept.
Seeing Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the draw with City should focus minds that tougher tests lie ahead that will more accurately work out just how good they are this season. For all the bores that like to moan about the Champions League losing its magic, those are four big clubs already confirmed for the last-eight.
Liverpool will not be there given they did not qualify for it last season, yet after they take on Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday they will be seen as the best barometer - especially at Anfield. Not even Guardiola could attempt to play down the significance after the team selection against FC Copenhagen.
If that shows how serious City are about winning as many titles as possible this season - and the fact they cruised to victory over their Danish opponents indicated the decision was more than justified - it was interesting to see Haaland stay on for so long. Even with the game meandering in the second half and so little being created for the striker, Guardiola did not take his star man off until the 88th minute when there was barely any time left.
Leaving Haaland on for so long was possibly more of a statement than resting the likes of Foden and De Bruyne for the evening as City's star continues back from injury. Resting him could only have been taken one way, but having another match and goal under his belt has certainly sent the message that he is fighting fit for Sunday.
That match will tell us far more about where City are at, but an eighth successive Champions League quarter-final should not be shrugged off either. No other side in Europe will fancy the defending champions in the draw when it happens a week on Friday.
Whatever intrigue remains around the team, they head into the first weekend in March in two quarter-finals and within a point of the league leaders so they have at least been good enough to put themselves and their season into a similar position. With Haaland leading the line, the team unbeaten in 20 and Rodri unbeaten in 59, City are again looking strong.
