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.
The opportunity to stay in the title race is still open because the clubs in the top five have a very small point difference so anything can still happen, it's just that one mistake will have very fatal consequences for the team, and Manchester City, who lost two points in the match against Crystal Palace, will it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain this opportunity, especially when the three teams above them managed to win against their opponents this week, and especially for Liverpool and Arsenal, they face quite tight matches against Manchester United and Brighton, while Aston Villa will probably find it relatively easier to face Brentford because Brentford is in the bad trend in these five matches, whereas if Liverpool and Arsenal can win it will be very profitable because big matches are often matches that can make them lose points.
Penalties awarded during injury time were very detrimental to Manchester City and in five matches they only produced 6 points, something that has rarely happened to this big team in several seasons when they managed to dominate the English Premier League, I think this has not been a decline for City like what happened to other big teams they just need to do an in-depth evaluation.