The three substitutes had anticipated being called when Mourinho beckoned, but O'Neill's indecision left them confused.
Mourinho took a deep breath before gesturing to the players, clarifying how they should proceed: warm up!
Commentators Martin Tyler and Andy Gray were just as frustrated, feeling that the sixty minutes felt like torture.
It was a repetitive cycle: Manchester City attacking, Tottenham clearing, Manchester City shooting from distance, and Spurs blocking.
After Manchester City took their twelfth long-range shot of the match and it was deflected by a defender, Tyler nearly wanted to smash his microphone!
He thought it was impossible to continue commentating. If they were radio commentators without a broadcast feed, eight out of ten sentences they uttered would be about Manchester City attacking, passing, penetrating, crossing, shooting—it felt like an infinite loop.
