I watched Manchester City in midweek in the Uefa Cup and their Brazilian star Robinho was on the fringes of the game.
He just did not look as if he wanted to be there and it was a similar story when they lost at Portsmouth last Saturday.
Against Liverpool on Sunday, however, he had a spring in his step. He helped create the goal for Craig Bellamy, he set up a great chance for Stephen Ireland and was keen to be involved in everything.
Maybe because it was a big game at Anfield, but I think it had a lot to do with how they set up their midfield.
Nigel De Jong and Vincent Kompany were the stars of the show. They both perform similar roles: they are players who are there to break down play rather than be creative, but they work well together.
Robinho was at the centre of City's best play at Anfield
George Graham always used to say to us at Arsenal that if he could get two midfield players to play in front of the back four then our defence would be able to play until we were 38 or 40 years of age.
That is exactly what happened. Under Arsene Wenger we had Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit in that area doing an awful lot of work that normally the back four has to do.
If the midfield do that then it takes a lot of pressure off your defence.
Ireland, Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips are all attacking players and it has left Kompany isolated in midfield and the City defence exposed this season.
Richard Dunne and Micah Richards have not performed as well at the back this year, which has compounded the problem as they have found themselves constantly under pressure - particularly away from home when they tend to give the ball away.
It has all added up to City losing too many matches, but the addition of the 24-year-old De Jong in the January transfer window has brought in a player with the legs to perform that role alongside Kompany.
On top of that defensive shield, however, you need the luxury of creative players so that when you get the ball you can do something with it.
It is vital to have that threat going the other way in order to give your backline some respite.
Their talisman Robinho is perfect for that role. When he gets on the ball he is so intelligent. He has this awareness of where the space is and his weight of pass in creating the chance for Ireland was just perfect.
That is what he was brought to City for: that bit of quality they did not have.
I saw him play for his country against Italy recently and he was outstanding, but then again he was surrounded by Brazilians. It is a lot easier when you have three or four options every time you get the ball.
City are getting used to him and how he plays, but he is undoubtedly a huge talent. He just needs a team framework that suits how he plays and I saw signs on Sunday that he is adapting to the English game.
He had the freedom to stay up in a three-pronged attack and less responsibility to defend, although he did show he is willing to get stuck in and a couple of times he found himself in the left-back role.
However, the secret is to do it every week.
On the other side, their opponents were missing a key element in Steven Gerrard.
We knew when he got injured it would be a huge blow, but in his absence it looks like Liverpool have let the title slip away.
They are seven points behind and it is easy to look at the six draws they have had at home as a major reason why they have fallen off the pace.
It was a game they had to win to challenge for the title.
Liverpool had a few late chances to win the game and should probably have had a penalty, but in general they were easily dealt with by a Manchester City side that have not been on top form.
In Gerrard's absence they played Dirk Kuyt in the position behind Fernando Torres and he was nullified by De Jong.
Up front Torres battled away but without Gerrard in the team they were lacking that spark.
Gerrard is such an infectious force when he is playing. He is their captain, he leads by example, he makes driving runs into the box that no-one else does in their team and he is a good finisher, so he is always a goal threat.
When he is on the pitch it also changes the dynamics of the opposition's team.
Even if he does not get the ball he occupies players and gives a team-mate half a second, which is all they need at this level.
He also raises the crowd's expectation at Anfield. There is this excitement when he gets the ball, but without him it seemed like a really flat atmosphere - which is unusual at Anfield.
There seemed to be a sense in the stadium that they might slip up.
If you take one player out of the Manchester United team they do not suffer - Wayne Rooney has been injured and Carlos Tevez just slotted in. They seem to have so many more options going forward and they are pretty good at the back as well.
Even without Gerrard, Liverpool still set up the same way. Players are creatures of habit and like to play the same way every week.
When it works for Liverpool it looks great, but it is vital they have their top players firing for it to work. When their main man is out I am not sure manager Rafa Benitez has a Plan B.
Lee Dixon was speaking to BBC Sport's Andrew McKenzie
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