Just as the English top flight was beginning to feel depressingly like another one-club league, Manchester City have lost three games in four, including two on the bounce in the Premier League, to suggest they are fallible after all.
All three defeats have come without Rodri, City’s midfield lynchpin, who will serve the final game of a three-match ban when the champions return to action against Brighton after the international break — which suddenly looks a more open contest than before his suspension.
