If a week is a long time in politics, it’s enough for history’s pages to turn in football too.
And as one club gets back on its axis, another could be about to lose its bearings.
Seven days ago, the story was the epic fall of Manchester City in the Champions League.
Today, it’s about them being nailed on to become EPL champions – not just this year but the next as well!
Not only have they recovered from the trauma of Madrid to lay one hand on the league title, they’ve found the last piece of their fantasy jigsaw: Erling Haaland.
With the great Norse god of thunder up front, this real live Thor should make them unstoppable.
And when it comes to snatching defeat on the victory lap, have they passed the baton to Liverpool?
While the EPL crown has all but disappeared, Jurgen Klopp’s men have the not-so-small matter of the FA Cup final with Chelsea on Saturday.
They’ll be doubly determined to make sure a second piece of silverware doesn’t slip through their fingers.
There’s still the Champions League, of course, but should Chelsea – always cussed opponents – win at Wembley, the Reds would be thinking the unthinkable.
Whisper it softly, but the nightmare prospect of just being Carabao Cup winners would loom large.
Lose to Real in Paris and that win over Chelsea in February would suddenly have the feel of a false dawn.
No matter how the season was dressed up, it would be remembered for one narrow win (on penalties) and three glorious failures, but failures, nonetheless.
After all the hype about “the Quad” and the mounting realism of the hopes, it would be beyond excruciating.
City-esque? Even the Blues have never done anything on this scale at this level.
To be fair to Klopp and his men, they have barely mentioned “the Quad” but their fans have. And so has the media.
And as the mighty red machine rolled inexorably from April into May, they dared to dream.
Thanks to stellar recruitment – what a gem Luis Diaz has been (!) – and judicious rotation, it began to look as if the depth of their squad would carry them through.
That and their unquenchable spirit.
They could go behind and still win – as they did in Villareal.
They could play below par and still find a way to win – often a telltale sign of potential champions.
But just when it began to look possible, they blinked.
Spurs were always going to be the test.
Even though it was at home, it looked the toughest fixture left as Antonio Conte had the Lilywhites battling for a top four slot.
No longer Spursy, they boasted a formidable front three in Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulusevski.
This trio was always going to be a true test for whatever defence Klopp decided to put out.
And so it proved with the lacklustre Reds dropping two points and coming close to losing all three.
Meanwhile, any thoughts that City might suffer at least a hangover if not permanent scars from their latest Champions League catastrophe proved unfounded.
Although their defence is decimated with Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias out for the season, they won their next two games, scoring 10 goals.
And if their toughest fixture – away at West Ham – is still to come, it’s hard not to see them clinching a fourth title in five years.
Even if they lost to the Hammers all they’d have to do is beat Aston Villa at home on the last day of the season.
A chance for Villa boss Steven Gerrard to finally win the title for Liverpool? Even Hollywood would hesitate to write that script.
And the signing of Haaland, 21, for just €60 million thanks to a buyout clause, appears to be a near-guarantee of future City domination.
Along with Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain, the Norwegian is regarded as one of the two hottest young talents in the game.
Built like a tank and blessed with the pace of an F1 car, he banged in a staggering 85 goals in 88 games for Borussia Dortmund.
On paper at least, he looks the player Pep Guardiola needs to complete his team of all talents.
Even more than those two five-goal victories, this is the response City fans wanted after the debacle in the Bernabeu.
It means Guardiola is not throwing in the towel – as some feared – but is going to have another go at the elusive holy grail of the Champions League.
It also means another tall order – and not just because Haaland is 194cm (6’4”) – for Liverpool in the remaining years of Klopp’s extended tenure, but one the German will relish.
Haaland’s contract – with wages higher than what Mo Salah is asking for – put him out of Liverpool’s reach but he did not quite fit the Klopp template.
Some don’t think he’ll be an automatic success for Guardiola either.
The Catalan has a chequered history with No 9s – think Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o – and Haaland is far from the finished article.
He cannot head a ball, pass over a long distance or press – it’s all rat-a-tat-tat, “wham bang, thank you mam” kind of stuff.
But then how many balls do City send across the six-yard box that somehow don’t end up in the net?
Haaland has been bought to ensure that they do.
Meantime, Liverpool could still say they’ve had a better season than City.
Three trophies are still very much on and although they will be gutted to miss out on the league, the final silverware score could still end up: Liverpool 3 City 1.
A unique treble and more than consolation.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.