It says everything you need to know about Manchester United's annus horribilis of 2021/22 that their 4-1 defeat at the Etihad in the second derby of the season probably doesn't even make a list of their top five most embarrassing days of the season.
Both defeats to Liverpool, the collapse at Brighton, the end of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era at Watford and the 4-2 defeat at Leicester City might all have been more galling than losing to the eventual champions, even if it's a derby day disaster that can leave lingering scars.
United lost 6-1 to Pep Guardiola's side across two games last season but when compared to the 9-0 scoreline in two games against Liverpool it begins to look like a respectable effort. READ MORE: Forget Erling Haaland's history with United, a Roy Keane reunion with Alfie is what we're waiting for The Old Trafford derby came two weeks after Liverpool had run amok at the same venue and it felt like City essentially declared when leading 2-0 at half-time.
When United travelled to the Etihad at the start of March their season still had something riding on it. They had recently secured a first-leg draw against Atletico in Madrid in the Champions League last-16 and a top-four finish was still well within their grasp.