Heartbroken Man City have seven days to prove Arsenal and Liverpool point

When Wednesday's titanic Champions League quarter-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid tipped into extra-time you could hear the faint sound of cheers drifting up the motorway from Cobham, for the biggest winners in the extra half-hour were Chelsea.

You could put together a good case for Mauricio Pochettino's side being marginal favourites to win Saturday's FA Cup semi-final now. City's two-hour epic with Real was draining both physically and mentally and after a recovery day on Thursday, they will barely be in any condition to put together a proper training session on Friday. Then there's the issue of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland both asking to be substituted.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are beginning to find form, have had an extra two days' rest after thrashing Everton and have troubled City twice this season, especially with their speed on the break. It's a massive ask for Pep Guardiola's side to find the reserves to go again less than 72 hours after suffering heartbreak against Real.

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But then this is what champions do and no English team in recent memory has embodied the spirit of champions quite like this City side. They are capable of picking themselves up off the canvas and finding a way to reach another FA Cup final.

In a season that is turning into the ultimate test, they don't need to look far for examples of how one result can be damaging. Liverpool lost to Atalanta in Europe and then lost their next game in the Premier League. Arsenal lost to Aston Villa in the league and a few days later were beaten by