I also had the same thought. Even though Man City's recent performance is not good, but that doesn't mean their chances in the title race are gone. There is still quite a long way to go in the Premier League, so Man City still has time to improve and return to their best performance. De Bruyne has been out for quite a long time, so there is a possibility that he will not be able to play as well as before his injury but still his return will strengthen Man City's midfield and provide motivation for his teammates because he is one of the key players who can make a difference when he has the opportunity to play.
I fail to understand how Manchester City failed to secure the 3points yesterday in their match against Crystal Palace, even after scoring the leasing goal in both halves, could it be a blunder in their defense or maybe a wrong decision from their super coach, Pep Guardiola, they were the favourites to win in that match cause they got alot of stars in their team compared to Palace and were even playing with a home advantage, well this is the EPL where every team is a treat.
Since City's play maker Kelvin Debruyne got injured, they been having some lapses and got suprisenly defeated by some mediocre teams, if Debruyne was presently in the squad maybe they might have been doing better than this, they're currently in the 4th place and could be 6points behind the current league leaders (Liverpool) if they win against Manchester United at Anfield today, we'll it's not the end of the road for City cause I still believe they're potential winners of this season's competition.