On Thursday evening, Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez had the misfortune of experiencing something he is not used to at all: crushing failure.
Despite entering the Africa Cup of Nations as reigning champions on a relentless winning run, his Algeria side crashed out in the group stages of the tournament with a resounding 3-1 defeat to Ivory Coast.
It has been a terrible tournament for Les Verts, who finished bottom of Group E after scoring just one goal across two defeats and a draw.
As captain of one of Africa's best teams and a three-time Premier League winner, Mahrez is not well acquainted with such setbacks. As an African footballing icon and by far his country's best player, he will be bitterly disappointed with his performances.
Not even his usually unerring confidence from the penalty spot could save Algeria from humiliation; with the score standing at 3-0, Mahrez slammed a second-half spot-kick against the post - his first miss since 2018 - to all but extinguish his country's by then faint hopes of a great escape.
For his and City's sake, hopefully his nightmare two weeks in Cameroon will not affect his form too much. If we can take anything from the experiences of one former Blue at the AFCON, then he should be just fine.
Yaya Toure suffered similar, if not worse, heartbreak back in 2012. The City great was one of the star players in an Ivory Coast generation crammed with talent.
The likes of Didier Drogba, Gervinho, Salomon Kalou and both Toure brothers stared as the Elephants reached the final without conceding a single goal. In the final they came up against Zambia, the surprise package of the tournament but an opponent they were nevertheless expected to brush aside.
Yet on the night, they faltered and were unable to find a way past the resilient underdogs. Drogba missed a second-half penalty and the game went the distance, although Yaya - substituted in the 87th minute - did not participate in the shoot-out.
Zambia ended up winning a marathon shootout 8-7, securing one of the most remarkable upsets in international football history.
Being the best team in the competition but falling at the final hurdle must have been devastating for Toure, but with City embroiled in a tense title battle back in England, he had no time to dwell on it.
The first signs of City wobbling began to show in his absence, with the Blues suffering an early exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester United before ending January with a defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.
In truth things unravelled further when he returned, but the part he played in City's fight-back from an eight-point deficit to win a first Premier League title cannot be understated.
In March 2012 he scored a long-range stunner away at Stoke, earning a point that turned out to be crucial in the final standings. Then in the penultimate game of the campaign against Newcastle, his double secured a crucial win to keep City top heading into the final game against Queen's Park Rangers.
On that famous day he left the action through injury, but not before setting up Pablo Zabaleta to score the opening goal in the 3-2 win.
Of course, the situation Mahrez finds himself returning to is different to the one Toure encountered. City have established an 11-point lead at the top of the table, although that will be cut to eight if Liverpool win their game in hand.
By contrast, City held a slim two-point advantage over United in 2012, with plenty of twists and turns awaiting down the road.
While Mahrez is not as important to this City team as Toure was to Roberto Mancini's vintage, he is still a key player for Pep Guardiola. Only Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva have bettered his tally of six league goals this season, while in the Champions League he is City's top scorer with five.
City and Guardiola will need Mahrez at his best for both the Premier League and Champions League run-ins. If the Algerian follows the template set by Toure, then he should be just fine.
Do you to expect Mahrez to get back to his best at City after his AFCON heartbreak? Follow our City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
