Punches were thrown - we knew how much rested on it for Man City

Manchester City's famous win at Wembley 25 years ago is rightly seen as a critical moment in the history of the football club.

After a baptism in the third tier of English football that was trickier than expected, the Blues found themselves 2-0 down after 90 minutes in the one game that would save them another season in Division Two. Kevin Horlock got one back, Paul Dickov smashed in a last-gasp equaliser, and young goalkeeper Nicky Weaver came through in the penalty shootout to complete a remarkable transformation for a team that had struggled to arrest the slide of the club.

Within a year they were back in the Premier League, within three they moved into a new stadium and within a decade they had been bought by a super-rich Sheikh. As Pep Guardiola looks to secure a fifth straight top flight title, that stunning Wembley day from 25 years ago resonates even louder.

But it would never have happened if City had never got there in the first place, and a 2-1 defeat at York on December 19, 1998 left them 12th in the table and without a win in five games (draws with Bristol Rovers, Luton and Gillingham had followed a defeat to Wycombe Wanderers). Rounding off the year was Wrexham away on Boxing Day followed by a game against Stoke in front of a hostile home crowd two days later.

"We were talking the other day and the memories have faded quite a bit," said former City striker Gareth Taylor. "We were talking about key moments in the season – Boxing Day, going to Wrexham at the Racecourse and winning 1-0, Gerard Wiekens scoring on a bog of a pitch. It was almost called off, the game, because there were puddles on the pitch.

"We'd had a decent result at Wrexham but the pressure was on that season. The fans were really demanding.