Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted he was urging Vincent Kompany not to shoot as he lined up his brilliant winner against Leicester.
The City captain’s long-range strike gave his side a 1-0 win, meaning they will retain their Premier League title if they beat Brighton on Sunday.
Belgian defender Kompany’s goal was his first from outside the penalty area for City after 11 years with the club.
“I said, ‘No shoot Vinnie, no shoot!'” said Guardiola.
Guardiola added that he plans to speak to Kompany about his future at the end of the season, with 33-year-old’s contract set to expire.
“We are going to take a beer together and decide what is best, especially for the club,” he said.
“He is an incredible human being and he helps me a lot. I always said I could not use him a lot, but this club is what it is because of people like Vincent.
“When he is fit he is incredible centre-back. He is a real defender, he is a leader many times.”
City had come closest to scoring before Kompany’s winner, Sergio Aguero heading against the bar and being denied by a super Kasper Schmeichel save either side of the break.
“We controlled the game, we were much better than the opponents,” added Guardiola. “Sometimes you need a goal like Vinnie today.”
The result leaves City one point ahead of Liverpool with one game to play, and it also ended Leicester’s hopes of finishing seventh and possibly taking a place in next season’s Europa League.
“We pushed City, arguably the best team in Europe, right to the very end,” said Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers.
“City and Liverpool are marvellous teams. It’s exciting, it goes to the last game and there is still work to do for both teams.”
