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| Another trophy bites the dust as reality bites for City | | | Agencies
LONDON, Mar 13: 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.
Reaching the business end of the Champions League - the quarterfinals and semifinals as a minimum - is the benchmark for a club with ambitions of continental grandeur.
That is why Pellegrini, who did just that with unfashionable Villarreal and Malaga in Spain, was hired to replace Roberto Mancini, who could not even get City out of the group phase of the blue riband competition.
At least Pellegrini fared slightly better as City finished runners-up to holders Bayern Munich in their group - beating the German side away before Christmas.
The draw for the last 16 was not kind, although with cracks appearing in the once all-conquering Barcelona side City were expected to push the Catalans all the way.
As it turned out they bowed out meekly, producing a tame performance at home when losing 2-0 and never seriously threatened a fightback in the Nou Camp, where they had Pablo Zabaleta sent off shortly after Lionel Messi had put Barca ahead on the night to effectively kill the tie. |
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