da aposte e ganhe： It's been a gradual process, but there's no question that Pep Guardiola's side are the leading power in not just their own city, but all of England
da brwin： "Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour," Sir Alex Ferguson once said about Manchester City. "You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder."
Ferguson uttered those immortal words in 2009 after Michael Owen's injury-time winner clinched a dramatic 4-3 win for Manchester United in the derby at Old Trafford. But since then, no sound system has been able to drown out the racket coming from next door.
And it has long ceased to just be noise. Over the last 14-and-a-half years, City have won far more trophies than United, made more astute signings and made much better moves off the pitch. As much as Reds might wish to deny it, City have overtaken their local rivals as the dominant force in Manchester, and indeed in English football.
Ahead of Sunday's derby at the Etihad Stadium, where City are firm favourites to continue their dominance over their local rivals, GOAL takes a look at the 12 moments which led to this extraordinary shift in power…
Getty ImagesSheikh Mansour chooses City
The year 2008 was looking like a miserable one for City fans. While United won the Premier League title on the last day of the season, City lost 8-1 at Middlesbrough. Weeks later, United won the Champions League final in Moscow while City's very future was in doubt after chairman Thaksin Shinawatra went on trial for fraud charges in Thailand.
But Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, rode to their rescue. Mansour was plotting to buy a Premier League club and looked at three other options before landing on City, paying Shinawatra £210m for 90 percent of the club's shares. In a matter of days, City went from a laughing stock and a club on the brink of collapse to the richest club in the world.
The same day the takeover was announced, City signed Robinho from Real Madrid. The first stone in their quest for global domination had been cast.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesCarlos Tevez & 'Welcome to Manchester'
Robinho may have been a glitzy signing and a statement of intent from the new City owners, but it was nothing like the audacious move the club pulled off in signing Carlos Tevez and rubbing their new-found wealth in the faces of Manchester United.
United had never owned Tevez, but while on a two-year loan from West Ham he had developed into one of their stars and a key player in their two Premier League wins and run to two Champions League finals. Ferguson, however, was reluctant to sign Tevez permanently due to the fact his economic rights belonged to a third party and his wage demands were colossal.
City, now backed by Sheikh Mansour and Abu Dhabi, had no such qualms, and as soon as they had signed Tevez they plastered his face over a blue billboard bearing the words 'Welcome to Manchester'.
Tevez averaged a goal every two games for City and was their top scorer for the next two seasons, firing them into the Champions League for the first time in 2011 and to the FA Cup, their first trophy in 35 years.
He embarrassed the club by refusing to warm up against Bayern Munich and disappearing to Argentina for several months to play golf, but returned just in time to help City win their first title at United's expense, too.
Getty ImagesDerby demolition
United had not lost a league derby for four seasons heading into their meeting with City in October 2011, and went into this match unbeaten for the season, so they were totally unprepared for what would take place in an astonishing 90 minutes at Old Trafford.
City had made a strong start to the campaign and man-of-the-moment Mario Balotelli gave them the lead, unveiling his famous 'Why Always Me?' t-shirt after scoring. The game was still under control from United's point of view until Jonny Evans was sent off early in the second half. With an extra man, City ran riot.
Balotelli doubled the lead on the hour mark and Sergio Aguero grabbed a third. Darren Fletcher scored down the other end to make it 3-1 and give United hope, but in trying to get back into the game, Ferguson's side left themselves dangerously exposed and City took full advantage, scoring three goals in the final four minutes. The 6-1 win was City's biggest over United since 1926 and the Red Devils' worst defeat of the Premier League era up to that point.
But as well as being a sign of the looming shift in power in the city, the result had huge ramifications in the title race, as City won their first Premier League title on goal difference.
GettyAgueroooooo…!
It is the ultimate sliding doors moment in Premier League history. City were on the verge of throwing the title away as they trailed 10-man Queens Park Rangers 2-1 heading into stoppage-time while United secured a 1-0 win at Sunderland.
United thought they had won the title, but Edin Dzeko's header set up an enthralling end at the Etihad Stadium, and Sergio Aguero snatched victory and City's first Premier League title, spawning Martin Tyler's most memorable commentary line: "Manchester City are still alive here… Balotelli….. Agueroooo! I swear you'll never see anything like this ever again. So watch it, drink it in."
Aguero's goal was the beginning of City's era of domination, the first of seven titles in the space of 12 seasons.