So Manchester City are human after all.
Just when it looked like they were beings from another planet because of their extraordinary football, they proved they are mortal.
Raheem Sterling’s 88th-minute winner did extend their record winning run to 17 games, but it was hardly a convincing display from City.
Yes, the pressure was off because they had already qualified for the Champions League group stages, and, yes, Pep Guardiola made seven changes to rest some of his big names.
But that does not excuse this pedestrian display as they just about got over the line to claim top spot against Group F’s whipping boys Feyenoord.
After their champagne football of recent months, this had all the fizz of a flat Coke.
Apart from Sterling’s well-worked goal, the only bright moment amidst the gloom was a debut for 17-year-old Phil Foden.
Eighteen-year-old Brahim Diaz also got a run-out at the death to show City’s expensive academy is delivering.
Guardiola used the game to give understudies Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Yaya Toure a chance to take centre stage at the Etihad.
While Gundogan assisted for Sterling’s winner, Silva and Toure fluffed their lines to underline how reliant City are on their star players.
There was no David Silva, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus or Leroy Sane in the starting XI - and it showed.
Guardiola admits he cannot accommodate Aguero and Jesus in the same attack, so it was the Argentinian’s turn to start.
Aguero was hungry to add to his record goals haul and shot into Brad Jones’ arms before he arrowed a header from Kevin de Bruyne’s left-wing cross just over.
It was disappointing from City and Ederson miscontrolled Jones’ punt upfield to give Jean-Paul Boetius a sniff of goal before the Brazilian snuffed out the danger with a great tackle.
Sam Larsson then curled a right-foot shot just past Ederson’s far post to give Feyenoord’s wonderful travelling support at the opposite end something to shout about.
The home fans took their cue from City’s stuttering display and the usually-rampant Blues struggled to get out of second gear.
Silva looked as nervous as a learner driver when he weakly side-footed a shot straight at Jones after great approach play by Sterling.
City’s ragged display was summed up when the mercurial de Bruyne unceremoniously up-ended Steven Berghuis just outside the box with a challenge Chopper Harris would have been proud of and Larsson fired over from the free-kick.
The Belgian playmaker looked more like his old self when he fired just wide before making way for Jesus.
City tried to break the deadlock and Toure fired wide from a free-kick.
Feyenoord grew in confidence and they might have snatched it when Berghuis controlled the ball before unleashing a left-foot shot, which Ederson touched over.
That was a warning to City and Aguero should have settled it when he chested the ball down in the box only to shoot wide.
City needed a lift and Guardiola provided it 15 minutes from time when he handed Under-17 World Cup winner Foden, the Blues’ first millennial player, his debut in place of Toure.
On came City’s future to replace City’s past.
Back to the present and Sterling clinched it two minutes from time for City when he exchanged passed with Gundogan to finish neatly past Jones.