Manchester City played their first derby of the 24/25 season on Sunday evening, taking on their biggest rivals, Manchester United, in a match which ended in a shocking 4-2 defeat for the Cityzens.
The Manchester derby arrived during the Women's Super League weekend, where Man City took on Man United in a match that definitely lived up to its' hype.
Manchester City went into this fixture as favourites to win the three points, especially after the numerous occasions where Man City have beaten their rivals in these last few seasons.
However, the latest edition of this rivalry saw a complete plot twist: Manchester United thrashed their opponents to win the match and claim the points to add to the WSL table thanks to a 4-2 win.
To get things kicked off, Man United's Ella Toone scored the first goal of the evening, almost 15 minutes into the match, to take a 1-0 lead.
Then, just a few minutes later, Leah Galton got United their second goal after a corner kick resulted in a complete mess of a defensive display from Manchester City, which gave Galton a simple goal to put away.
In the 36th minute, another error led to City losing out on the ball right in front of their own goal, prompting Ella Toone to slot away the ball and put the Red Devils up 3-0 before half-time.
Manchester City did respond to being 3-0 down as Mary Fowler picked out Vivianne Miedema, who headed in City's first goal of the match to make it 3-1.
Then, right before the whistle blew for the end of the first 45, a corner taken by Mary Fowler saw Rebecca Knaak make it 3-2.
The half-time score was 3-2 to Manchester United, a scoreline that seemed a lot better for City, who could have gone in a lot worse. For United, despite still having the lead, they would have been frustrated to have given up such a huge lead to their rivals.
When the next half arrived, it didn't take long for Manchester United to regain a healthier lead as the very first minute saw goalkeeper Khiara Keating make yet again another horrendous error, which resulted in an empty goal and an Ella Toone sitter to make it 4-2.
4-2 was the final result of the match. An incredible result for the Red Devils, who not only have gotten one over their rivals but have also moved into the top three of the WSL.
For Manchester City, a disastrous display from start to finish means they are now fourth and nine points away from first-place Chelsea, with the chances of winning the title seeming almost nonexistent.
After coming close to winning the trophy last season and only losing out due to goal difference on the final day, the situation right now is a completely different one, where City are struggling to even remain in the top three.
Even though the WSL isn't going to plan, they still have three other competitions where they can go on and achieve big things. However, in order to do that, they will need to improve majorly from what we've seen against United and other performances they've created so far as well.
Gareth Taylor after the crucial loss
"We are all upset. But, we stick together and we keep working because we know we can execute better than that."
"It's good we've got matches coming thick and fast. Of course, when you have that sort of result the best thing is to be able to bounce back as quickly as you possibly can."
Only a few days later, we will see the exact same fixture play out as Manchester City hope to right the wrongs against Manchester United.
On Wednesday the 22nd of January, there will be another instalment of the Manchester derby as both teams prepare for a vital match in the FA Women's League Cup.
After being humiliated by the Red Devils, the Sky Blues will need to do a whole lot better if they are to get back on the right track.