There were goosebumps when the Wurzels echoed around Ashton Gate as supporters swung their complimentary scarves around their heads in unison.
It wasn't to be in the end but it was a special night and one that felt synonymous with the position and feel-good factor surrounding the club at the moment.
"Twelve games unbeaten, I’m sorry we break that record…" were the words from Pep Guardiola in his post-match interview before praising the spirit shown by Nigel Pearson's side who stood up to the task against a star-studded opposition. Man City knew they were in a game and for 74 minutes, the underdogs were very much in the contest.
Their class finally prevailed with goals from Phil Foden and the brilliant Kevin De Bruyne succumbing City to a 3-0 defeat. In fairness to the visitors, it was a thoroughly professional performance and sometimes you can't help but marvel at the way they move the ball around the pitch.
On any other day, the game could have panned out differently. Mark Sykes may have had a penalty shortly after Foden's opener when he was bundled from behind while Sam Bell would have been lying in bed thinking 'what if?' when his header narrowly avoided the target in the 70th minute.
Last night was a taster of what can be achieved at this club and at some point in the future, that will surely become a reality. Here's the verdict following a memorable evening in BS3.
Alex Scott earns more plaudits
Everyone here on the red side of Bristol recognises just how talented he is and last night's performance just reiterated the knowledge that he is absolutely destined for the Premier League. What was impressive, and this applies to all City players, was that they weren't overwhelmed by the occasion of going up against the world's elite.
But Scott was once again in a class of his own. Given the attention he has been generating over the last 12-18 months, all eyes were on him and he delivered in front of the national media, putting in a performance that earned praise from Guardiola to Roy Keane and Henry Winter.
The Man City manager called him "an unbelievable player" and perhaps there's one more potential suitor when those inevitable bids are made in the summer. After that performance, City can justify adding a couple more million onto his price tag.
The way Scott could glide past Kalvin Phillips and Rico Lewis, who were playing as the deepest midfielders for the visitors, was special to watch. It only confirmed what we already knew but for others who had only heard and not seen him in action, they would have understood the hype.
He quietened in the second half, maybe Guardiola's tactics were behind that, but in the opening 45 minutes, there was no fear to his forays forward. Dancing his way into the area, Man City's defenders didn't dare touch him in the fear of conceding a penalty.
If there were a few doubts about his readiness to play in the Premier League now, then those surely have been put to bed. Earlier this week, there was a transfer report linking Newcastle with the 19-year-old which stated they would be willing to loan him back for the entirety of next season.
Whether there is any truth to that, who knows? But it's becoming clearer by the game that Scott is outgrowing the Championship.
Sign him up
When Pearson challenged Kalas to earn himself a new Bristol City contract, even he may not have expected him to do it within two starts. It's quite difficult to apprehend, based on that performance, that he had only played 160 minutes of football this season before lining up against Manchester City.
Even performing at 90 per cent, Guardiola's side will show little mercy and given the lack of football he has played following a series of injuries, there may have been one or two question marks about his fitness, especially coming just three days after his first 90 minutes since March.
He embodied what City were about last night. His reading of the game was second to none, the way he stepped forward to man-mark De Bruyne (and did so commendably) was brave and his pace to keep track of World Cup winner Julian Alvarez showed his class.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, his future beyond the summer looks uncertain but it's clear, despite his injuries, it hasn't affected his levels of performance. If he maintains that form until the end of the season, he is going to have the pick of a number of clubs including offers that are likely to blow City out of the water.
Pearson's face lights up when he talks about Kalas. "He's a really good destructive player," he said after the game. The manager then added with a smile: "I said to him before the game, 'you've been broken in now, you've played 70 minutes and one 90 minutes and there you go, you're playing against Manchester City tonight.'
"He just takes it in his stride, he's able to deal with that type of situation. Tomas was really good tonight."
The half-time switch
It was brave by Pearson after 45 minutes to bring captain Andi Weimann on for George Tanner and push Mark Sykes into the right-back role. For Tanner, that would have been a real learning curve against world-class opposition in Foden and Bernardo Silva.
City had difficulty quelling Man City's attacks down the right side. Tanner, whose partnership with Vyner has flourished in the last couple of months, couldn't get to grips with the way the visitors were attacking down that flank.
On numerous occasions, Bernardo and Foden were able to double up on the full-back and also bring De Bruyne into play and it understandably caused problems. Give Man City that kind of space, and they will need no second invitation to take advantage.
The stats highlight their encouragement to attack down City's right. According to WhoScored, 31 per cent of their shots taken came from the left side, 69 per cent through the middle and 0 per cent on the right. The average player positions also saw Foden, Silva, Alvarez and De Bruyne play close to each other towards the left side.
Weimann's introduction offered more of an attacking threat and it almost paid off when his cross found the head of Sam Bell at the near post only to glance his chance wide of the target. On another occasion, Sykes' cross found the Austrian in the area but his volley was blocked.
It's food for thought going forward as Sykes looked comfortable in that right-back role should Pearson want to have more of an attacking impetus - he made a brilliant covering interception to deny Alvarez towards the beginning of the second half.
Lasting memories
Bristol City had five academy players in their starting XI, which is nothing unusual and a further four on the substitute bench. In total, seven names who have come through the ranks made an appearance against the champions last night.
A few rough calculations show that City's bench was worth around £4million with transfer fees paid for Jay Dasilva and Weimann. In comparison, Man City's was worth around £333m with Jack Grealish the most expensive name having cost them a cool £100m.
Not that we needed any more evidence of the disparity between the two sides but as soon as the third goal went in and the game was put to bed, Pearson immediately substituted 16-year-old Marlee Francois for his senior debut - not a bad way to make a first appearance.
For a brief second, it almost appeared as though he was going to enjoy a dream start when Ederson surged out of his area but the ball just evaded his path when the goal was gaping.
Midfielder Omar Taylor-Clarke also made an introduction in the final few moments while 17-year-old Olly Thomas and 16-year-old Elijah Morrison watched on from the substitute bench. It's these moments that the players will remember throughout their careers and can prove a motivation to reach those levels as they continue to develop.
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