First Liverpool, then Arsenal; now Manchester City.
All choking as the fumes in the races for silverware heat up.
City lost in the Champions League yet remain favourites for the English Premier League (EPL) title.
But not by as much as they did last weekend after their two rivals imploded.
Arsenal have now lost in both competitions and when they followed Liverpool’s lead by losing at home on Sunday, City were all but crowned champions in some quarters. But no longer.
The manner of Real Madrid’s rope-a-dope victory at The Etihad has changed the mood.
A two-hour heavyweight slugfest capped by an agonising KO on penalties was the last thing City wanted with a fixture list as relentless as an incoming tide.
They wobbled like George Foreman who famously punched himself to exhaustion before Muhammed Ali applied the final blows.
The Treble dream is dashed and, if they’re not careful, the FA Cup could go as well on Saturday night.
As chief penalty culprit Bernardo Silva said last week, “In a week, we could lose all three.”
That’s mathematically impossible but we know what he meant.
City can’t “lose the league” until next month whatever happens, but they could lose the FA Cup this weekend.
And the psychological blow of being dumped out of two competitions within four days could have a knock-on effect in the EPL.
Confidence, even among superstars, is a fragile thing and we got a graphic illustration in the shootout.
Silva, who soared like a salmon to be the hero last year, was a gibbering wreck this time.
His muffed ‘Panenka’ probably impacted on Mateo Kovacic who followed him into the spot-kick doghouse.
Just 48 hours after Cole Palmer had scored four for Chelsea against Everton, it would have been an especially painful watch for City fans.
In addition to a perfect hattrick was another ice-cool penalty from a kid who seems to have no nerves.
A Manchester City kid who Pep Guardiola sold for reasons best known to himself.
Yes, the fee was £40m but Palmer is looking a bit special and is sure to feature for England in the European Championships.
A midfielder, he is now level with Erling Haaland on 20 goals as joint-top scorer in the EPL. Palmer also has nine assists.
He was exactly the guy needed at the end of extra time. Haaland would have been useful, too, as would Kevin de Bruyne.
But both were taken off as “they could not go on” – according to Pep – even though the probability of penalties was looming.
Whether they – and several others – can recover in time for a battle with a Chelsea side finally getting their act together – has to be open to doubt.
And there’s no time for a rest after that: on Thursday they go to Brighton and on Sunday to Forest.
Chelsea will be eager to take them on when they may be as shattered mentally as they are physically.
Sure, City will be desperate to put this defeat behind them, but it won’t be easy against a Blues side intent on ending a troubled season with a trophy.
Having succumbed to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup to make history by losing six finals in a row, they will be desperate to break the habit.
And with England’s co-efficient plummeting after both Champions League representatives lost, it may also be their only route into Europe next season.
For City, even without the inconvenience of the FA Cup, their hold on the title looks anything but firm.
Their draining defeat may well have reinvigorated their challengers, even though Arsenal were also bundled out of Europe and Liverpool looked likely to follow at the time of writing.
But the Champions League is the big one and a couple of old doubts reared their heads again.
City have only won the competition once in 13 attempts and they are finding it difficult to break teams down.
Even in the EPL, they’re not scoring as many and this could cost them in the run-in.
Haaland is not the force he was last season, completing only five of City’s 865 passes in the game.
De Bruyne is in the autumn of his career as are Kyle Walker, Ederson and John Stones.
To be fair, had the Belgian not blazed over five minutes after scoring, City would surely have won. It was a pivotal miss.
Arsenal and Liverpool have just as demanding schedules which will have eased by their premature exits from Europe. Although neither is in the FA Cup.
Each has six games to play with City two points ahead of both Arsenal and Liverpool. The Gunners have the best goal difference (49 to 44 of City and 41 of Liverpool).
Arsenal have three home games and three away whereas both City and Liverpool have two at home and four away.
But that advantage is perhaps negated by Arsenal’s three away fixtures appearing somewhat tougher than the other pair’s.
After going to Wolves on Saturday, they go to Tottenham and Manchester United.
Besides Brighton and Forest, City visit Spurs whom Liverpool face at Anfield so Ange Postecoglou’s side could well be the kingmakers.
They have a tough scrap for fourth place with Aston Villa.
However this is analysed, it’s hard not see more twists and turns before it’s decided.
Arsenal look as if they might already have cracked whereas Liverpool still have the Jurgen Klopp farewell incentive and may come again.
And the departing boss is actually better at sustaining an end-of-season run than Guardiola.
The Reds have won a total of 77 points from the final six matches of the campaign over the last five years compared with the 73 of Guardiola.
Liverpool could have done with City and Arsenal going through to face each other in a titanic Champions League semi-final, but they’re still not out of the race.
The other FA Cup semi-final sees Coventry hoping to upset Manchester United which would surely mean the end for Erik ten Hag.
Fasten your seatbelts: a lot can still happen.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.