As it turned out, the 19-year-old was one of the key men in City's excellent 1-0 victory which ended the Londoners' 100% start to the season and kept the club in contention for a Premier League title Roberto Mancini continues to insist is bound for Stamford Bridge.
That Boyata was able to look back in triumph was remarkable in two respects. When Mancini was splashing out in excess of £100million on new players this summer, it was hard to imagine he could be left scratching around for players at such an early stage of the season.
And, for Boyata at least, it was an appearance he never expected to make.
"I didn't expect to play," he said.
"Usually in the week we train with the starting XI and I was not in it. Then when I glanced up at the board to see who was in the actual side, I only saw the first two letters 'BO' and assumed Jerome Boateng was playing.
"It was only when it was actually read out that I realised it was me. I was quite shocked. I thought 'wow, it's me' but I had to stay focused because I knew how hard this game was going to be."
Source: PA
Source: PA