The last time Manchester City lost four successive games, Pep Guardiola was winding down his playing career in Mexico. The Abu Dhabi takeover was simply a negotiation. The new English rage was Chelsea, their cold-eyed owner, the handsome and brazen manager and his galaxy of young stars. No one noticed City’s losing streak, which stretched to six, under the former England defender Stuart Pearce in 2006. He survived the axe and another year at the then City of Manchester Stadium, a compact and hostile arena. But by 2024, City has remoulded into one of the formidable dynasties in England that even a lone defeat is forensically and mercilessly dissected. Four defeats on the spin has spurred a riot of feeling, from shock to sadism, and a casket of narrative threads. Whether it’s the beginning of the end, or the end; whether it’s a sign of Guardiola and his team feeling bored, whether all the success has killed their drive, or whether it’s just another slip-up triggered by injury, form and fitness. The comment of Bernardo …