On the day when debate raged over the supposed simplicity of this Dubai Desert Classic setup, Rory McIlroy spent nine holes delivering an unwanted counterpoint. That McIlroy recovered so strongly during the inward half of his third round means a nod is due towards the stamina of a player who had been hampered by injury for most of last year. Make that another question answered: now for the most important one.

With 18 holes to play, McIlroy’s 19-under-par is one adrift of Li Haotong. The Chinese player’s 64 in round three was all the more impressive because Li had McIlroy for company. Nonetheless, it would be remiss not to mention the painfully slow nature of his play; a matter that will surely only intensify over the closing straight.

If the European Tour is serious about eliminating slow play, someone will have a word in Li’s ear. The 22-year-old is clearly a wonderful talent but demonstrates too much of the procrastination that dulls golf as a spectacle. “I thought if I just stayed patient, I’ll play good,” said Li. “So I just stayed patient all day.” The trouble was, nobody else had any option but to do likewise.

McIlroy had returned at first light to make short work of the closing stretch of the second round. He played the seven holes in five under par, affording himself a two-shot lead. Thoughts of a procession ensued.

Such sentiment was boosted by the general standard of scoring. The cut had fallen at five under par – a tournament record – with Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal taking to social media to bemoan course conditions. Larrazábal, who had fallen on the wrong side of the cut, called for more narrow fairways, thicker rough and firmer greens “to make it tougher”. Matt Fitzpatrick was among those to shout in agreement.

When McIlroy produced a birdie three at the second, his advantage was three. An unforeseen wobble was to follow, with the 28-year-old reaching the turn in a one-over-par 36 to hand the initiative to Li. It took a McIlroy eagle at the 10th to prompt a revival, his back nine of 32 ensuring a 68 that looked highly unlikely for so long. McIlroy is seeking a third Desert Classic success.

“I’ll probably need to play a bit better tomorrow to win. It’s two weeks into the season and I’ve given myself a second chance to win a tournament,” he said. “I feel like if I play my game I should be able to shoot something a bit lower and I feel like I’ll need something a bit lower to win.”

Alexander Lévy has the hardly insignificant motivation of a Ryder Cup in his native France this year. His hole-in-one at the fourth kick-started his 65 and he is now 17 under, where he has Haydn Porteous for company.

Andy Sullivan, a former runner-up here, has been scrambling desperately for good form that rendered his 63 even more welcome than normal. Sullivan is at 16 under.

“I’ve worked very hard,” he said. “With seven weeks off to the start of the year, I really put in some work in the gym and effort on the course. I want to get back to my best.

“It’s Ryder Cup year and when you’ve played in one of them, you don’t want to miss another one. It’s important for me to get back to where I belong and get back on the leaderboards to try to pick up some of these tournaments.”