Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both bagged hat-tricks to condemn Manchester United to more derby day humiliation in a 6-3 mauling.
The pair of Manchester City stars tore Erik ten Hag's side apart in a typically rampant performance when the world was watching. Two spectacular goals Foden sandwiched Haaland's devastating double to put the Citizens 4-0 up at half-time, as droves of United fans walked out of the goal-filled Etihad Stadium early.
Pep Guardiola enjoyed further Manchester derby delight in the second half, as Haaland and Foden punished the hapless Red Devils, who briefly put up a fight thanks to an incredible goal - albeit a consolation - from Antony. The reigning champions weren't even close to defeat, though - even after Anthony Martial 's tap-in and late penalty - as they proved that not only is Manchester sky blue, but the Premier League, too.
Here are seven talking points from the Etihad Stadium.
1. Pep roulette strikes again
As fantasy football fans will know all too well, Pep Guardiola likes to tinker with his team and find ways to surprise us. This season has seen less bold calls than usual, but when it emerged that Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji had got the nod over Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte at centre-back, it felt like the old days.
Not only that, but City were also missing the ever-present Rodri from the base of their midfield. The Spaniard had picked up an injury in training, forcing Ilkay Gundogan to fill in with Kalvin Phillips also sidelined. But as Roy Keane noted pre-match, good players adapt.
2. Quickfire Foden
Speaking of good players, Phil Foden wasted no time in reminding everyone of his qualities after a muted start to the season - at least by his lofty standards. But as always with a City goal, it was about the team. After United escaped a goalmouth scramble which included efforts from Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland just three minutes in, the Citizens made their visiting neighbours pay with a typically slick move.
Joao Cancelo found himself with time and space on the edge of the penalty area, allowing him to slot compatriot Bernardo Silva in to play an inch-perfect pull-back to Foden's left foot. The English prodigy produced a sweeping effort which left David de Gea rooted to his spot and gave City a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute.
3. Mr Inevitable
As City continued to toy with their hapless opponents, it felt only a matter of time before a certain Norwegian striker got on the scoresheet. While Jack Grealish and Foden were causing chaos with their slaloming runs through the United defence, it was a corner which led to Haaland nodding home his 15th goal of the season.
Ten Hag's decision to zonally mark the Citizens resulted in Eriksen being the man to 'challenge' him, and the 22-year-old monster had no problem in beating his Danish foe. Tyrell Malacia's attempted goalie clearance saw the ball fire back out, but Michael Oliver's watch quickly confirmed it was 2-0.
4. Sweet 16
If you want a team to compound your misery, Manchester City are that side. A mere four minutes after Haaland had doubled City's lead, the striking sensational bagged his 16th goal in only 11 appearances for his new club.
Courtesy of another sublime Kevin De Bruyne delivery, Haaland flew in at the back post after evading the injured Raphael Varane to prod home. The Red Devils centre-back soon hobbled off in place of Victor Lindelof, who couldn't prevent one of the Premier League's all-time greatest first-half performances.
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5. Foursome football
Before Lindelof even had time to get settled, the Swede found himself trying to stop one of the most ferocious counter-attack scenarios one could think of. Firstly, De Bruyne burst away form Eriksen to slide Haaland down the left flank. Then, Norway's finest picked up the pair and was able to find Foden with an incredible pass across the box.
The youngster, also 22, coolly beat De Gea after holding off Malacia and capped a special display. When Oliver's whistle blew to temporarily put Ten Hag and co out of their misery, it felt like full-time. Haaland's raised fist and gleeful smile to the stands said it all - United fans were already on their way home.
6. Ten Hag's familiar task
Somehow, even in a period where the feeling around Manchester United is positive, Erik ten Hag has already had to hold two half-time team talks while at 4-0 down - nine games into his tenure. Having done so at Brentford, the Dutch tactician had to rally his troops after being out-everything'd for the previous 45 minutes.
Whatever he said in the dressing room, Antony listened. The Brazilian, who'd worked under Ten Hag for two years at Ajax, cut inside on his stronger left foot and whizzed in a screamer of a goal past Ederson from nearly 25 yards out to give the Red Devils a glimmer of hope just before the hour mark.
7. Hat-trick heroes
Records are for breaking and record books are for ripping up - that's been Erling Haaland's mantra since stepping into English football. For the third Premier League home game in a row, he managed a hat-trick and became only the third player in City's history to bag a trio of goals against United shortly before Foden became the fourth.
A simple passage of play led to Haaland's latest thumping finish, with his dad and ex-Citizens defender, Alf Inge, watching on from the stands. To tee him up, Sergio Gomez - on in place of Kyle Walker, who pulled up with injured - registered his first assist since signing from Anderlecht in the summer transfer window.
As for Foden, a perfectly-placed through ball from Haaland allowed him to slide the ball beyond De Gea and make it feel like 2011 again. That was until Anthony Martial made an impact from the bench, prompting mock celebrations from the cluster of remaining away fans, who'd done well to stay in the ground up until his 90th-minute penalty.
