Manchester City's predicament was epitomised by a handful of striking images this weekend: Mancini's eyes grew unnaturally wide as he confronted awkward questions about whether the title race was over now. Gareth Barry and Joe Hart looked like they wanted the pitch to open up and eat them as they digested the meaning of their mistakes.
For years - decades even - the expression epitomized by Barry as he sliced the ball past Hart, a calamitous moment upon which Manchester City's fortunes plunged through thin ice and down into the sorry depths, would have all been too recognisable. It was classic City. That gut-wrenching feeling was something they knew all too well in the pre-Abu Dhabi era.
United will enjoy turning the screw this season. But it is how City respond that will be fascinating.
