Pep Guardiola had said it plainly before kick-off: drop points, and the title race is over. City dropped points. Whether it is technically over — they still have a game in hand — it no longer feels like a race. It feels like an escort.
Guardiola was serving a two-game touchline ban, having accumulated six yellow cards for the season following his confrontation with the fourth official during the FA Cup win over Newcastle. That ban does not apply to the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal later this month, which offers some small consolation.
On Saturday night, he was in the stands, on the phone to assistant Pep Lijnders, calling the shots from a remove he clearly hated. He joked about it afterwards, telling TNT Sports: “I love to be there. I will complain to more referees to get more yellow cards! Next time it will be three games! I will try it again! It is different, more relaxed.”
The result was anything but relaxing. Bernardo Silva gave City the lead in the 31st minute — a stroke of luck more than design, his attempted cross looping over a startled Mads Hermansen. City’s lead lasted four minutes. Jarrod Bowen whipped in a corner, Gianluigi Donnarumma misjudged the flight entirely and left Konstantinos Mavropanos — former Arsenal defender, of all people — with a free header that went in off the underside of the crossbar.
Erling Haaland, who had scored against West Ham more than any other opponent in his career, managed just 21 touches all evening. Cherki came on and fashioned a low drive for Haaland that Hermansen pushed around the post.
Haaland then miscued a finish from 12 yards after Doku put him through clean. Marc Guehi blazed over in stoppage time. The final whistle came, and City were nine points behind Arsenal.
Afterwards, Guardiola softened his earlier declaration. “It’s complicated,” he admitted. “We win against Nottingham, it depends on us, now it depends on them.
“But we have one game in hand, we have Arsenal at home — I’m not saying it will be easy to beat them — but at home I’m always positive.”
The optimism feels thin. Draws in their last two league games against bottom-half sides, a 3-0 hammering at Real Madrid on Tuesday — and a Carabao Cup final against the same Arsenal side breathing down their necks.