Despite 2009 being marked as the start of City’s alleged rule-breaching, the six-year period for legal claims – included in the 1980 Limitation Act – means that said claims can be lodged when details of the alleged breaches were first revealed to the public eye.

For once Pep Guardiola is making the wrong kind of history. For the first time in his managerial career it is four defeats on the spin for the 12-time league winner. Five points off the Premier League summit,

Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City's Premier League title hopes may be slipping away after suffering a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time in his career, allowing Liverpool to go five points clear at the top.