Pep Guardiola has admitted that Manchester City's title defence could be all but over if they lose to Liverpool at Anfield next Sunday. With Liverpool set to face Southampton this Sunday, a win for the Reds would extend their lead to eight points at the top of the Premier League table.

If the first scarcely left City distraught, with Guardiola unworried by exiting the Carabao Cup, the latest was more emphatic, more dramatic, more chastening, more stunning. Guardiola’s joint heaviest defeat became an embarrassment.