Salford’s players stayed on the pitch a good five minutes after the full-time whistle to show their appreciation to their travelling fans.
“Why did you bring that up?” manager Karl Robinson joked in his post-match press conference, when a reporter mentioned last season’s eight-goal drubbing.
He must have feared his side were facing another hammering when Alfie Dorrington scored an own goal in the sixth minute.
The visitors, however, regrouped.
Not only did they prevent their opponents from registering an attempt on target before half-time, they twice went close to scoring themselves through Ben Woodburn and Brandon Cooper.
It was still only 1-0 when James Trafford denied Kelly N’Mai, before Guardiola sent on Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly, Rodri and Guehi, the latter eventually easing home nerves nine minutes from the end.
“It’s about us using this as a benchmark to move forward,” added Robinson, whose side sit sixth in the fourth tier of English football.
“We couldn’t do that last season. We have to get out of League Two.
“It was a fantastic defensive performance against one of the best teams in Europe.
“They had to bring on four of their best players in the last 20 minutes. We dust ourselves off and get ready for Tuesday [Newport County at home].”
Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown, who was at Etihad Stadium for BBC Sport, said Salford will learn from Saturday’s experience.
“For Salford to get to this stage they have done well,” he added.
“The test was there with this draw, but Robinson will have learned a lot about his players.”
Garbutt added: “They are a world-class team and they are going to create chances and score good goals but we kept that to a minimum.”