It was an omen of things to come as in the 56th minute the visitors took the lead after a mix-up between Skrtel and Sotirios Kyrgiakos allowed Ebanks-Blake's through-ball to squeeze between them.

The hotel nightlights shine behind the drawn venetian blinds and the slatted patterns on the curbside cars give them the look of anchored smallcraft with lapstrake hulls.

I was distracted by a pictorial retelling of the cosmic cycle of birth, as endless starmatter condensed and exploded, while my body was given a thorough purge and overhaul.

Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not.