LONDON, (Reuters) – A few weeks ago, talk of an unprecedented Manchester City quadruple was doing the rounds with Manuel Pellegrini’s side in seemingly unstoppable form on all fronts.
After Wednesday’s 2-1 Champions League last 16 defeat in Barcelona, which sealed a 4-1 aggregate loss, the dream of a bumper springtime bounty for City is fading before their eyes.
The League Cup they won at Wembley earlier this month with an unconvincing defeat of Sunderland was supposed to be an appetiser for the feast to come.
Now, with the Champions League and FA Cup gone and Chelsea storming nine points clear in the Premier League, there is a growing feeling it might be their only silverware this season.
That would represent an anti-climax for a City side that earlier this season was being lauded for playing the best football throughout Europe.
City’s Abu Dhabi owners have invested hundreds of millions of pounds into turning the once under-achieving club into a major European force but six years after they opened the cash tap there is clearly still a long way to go.