City’s first ever Champions League campaign got underway at the start of September, though it began with a bit of a stutter.

Hosting Napoli in the Group A opener, the Blues had to rely on Aleksandr Kolarov to salvage a point after falling behind to an Edinson Cavani strike.

Despite dropping two points in their opening Champions League contest, City’s domestic form was something to behold. Already with maximum points from their first three games, Roberto Mancini’s side tightened their stronghold at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Wigan – Sergio Aguero scoring a hat-trick.

The Blues did, however, drop points at Craven Cottage. An Aguero double had seemed to set City on their way for a fifth consecutive league win, but it wasn’t to be when in typical Fulham style, the Cottagers clawed their way back from two down to claim a point.

It was a performance that would see some question the Blues’ staying power in what would undoubtedly prove a tightly contested title challenge, but Mancini’s side later put any doubts to bed with a convincing 2-0 win over Everton.

The Toffee’s had previously enjoyed a run of four consecutive victories at the Etihad Stadium, but City ended that record with a convincing display. That came only days after they had beaten holders Birmingham to progress into the fourth round of the Carling Cup – a game in which Dutch teenager Karim Rekik became the youngest ever overseas player to represent the club at senior level.

With the long term future of Carlos Tevez hanging in the balance, Vincent Kompany was officially named City’s new captain. The Fans’ and Players’ Player of the Year was the obvious choice to replace Tevez having become such a reliable favourite at the club.

Kolo Toure’s return from a six-month suspension was welcomed by City who were later hit by Executive Chairman Garry Cook’s resignation and just weeks later had to contend with more controversy during the trip to Bayern Munich.

Beaten 2-0 on the field, it was Tevez’s touchline dispute with Mancini that courted the next morning’s headlines.

The incident would sadly overshadow the club’s moving tribute to victims of the Munich Air disaster that saw Brian Kidd, Bernard Halford and Tony Book lay a wreath in memory of the 23 victims - including former Blue Frank Swift – prior to the game.