In all likelihood, this will still be a momentous season for Manchester City. A third Premier League title in four years will soon be collected. A Champions League semi-final looms and the League Cup final is imminent next weekend.
Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson used to have disappointments like these. The kind of setback where an unprecedented quadruple falls by the wayside and you feel like your bubble has been burst. What United, or any side, would give for a season like this now?
And yet, this was a significant disappointment for City and Pep Guardiola.