Liverpool fans issue Man City reality check as Pep Guardiola seeks to rediscover two key ingredients

Manchester City haven't had to listen to the gloats of opposing supporters too often at the Etihad, but as the final minutes of this contest played out to the sound of Liverpool fans singing about winning the league it was impossible not to feel that an era was coming to an end.

Pep Guardiola's side are still champions in name, but their chances of making it five in a row have long since ended. They had become disruptors this season, but losing 5-1 to Arsenal and 2-0 to Liverpool in the space of three weeks means they haven't even been able to do that.

Throw in a pair of defeats to Real Madrid between those games, and the evidence that this champion City team has gone past its sell-by date is undeniable. Their title will be heading to Merseyside in May, and City will revert to being the hunters rather than the hunted.

Maybe they will relish the change in status, but they will also need another injection of fresh energy. They have been dealt a bad hand this season - and the absence of Erling Haaland against Liverpool on Sunday was the latest example - but they can no longer ride with the punches.

The loss of Haaland in Madrid was a brutal blow for City, and he wasn't even fit enough for the bench against Liverpool. With Ruben Dias only amongst the substitutes, the Blues were without their best defender and their best striker.

In previous years, they have shrugged off these sorts of problems. This is a team that won titles without a left-back and a striker. They have always found a way because the collective has been so strong, and the mentality has been faultless.

This season, both are beginning to slip. It's worth acknowledging just how well City has done under Guardiola to maintain its brilliance season after season.