As Gary Neville, on commentary duties for Sky Sports, picked out Joao Cancelo as man of the match, he must have felt a wistful feeling of what might have been.
When Neville was manager of Valencia back in 2016, he'd urged Manchester United to take a punt on this outstanding young full-back.
United weren't convinced and now here he was in the blue of Manchester City ripping his former club to shreds.
Joao Cancelo gave Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Man United a torrid time in Saturday's derby
The Portuguese left-back delivers a cross during an outstanding performance at Old Trafford
Cancelo produced one of the most complete performances by a full-back you're ever likely to see in the Premier League, underlining precisely why Pep Guardiola now trusts him in pretty much every match.
Not only did the Portuguese neuter United's limited attacking threat, he ran Aaron Wan-Bissaka ragged down the City left, setting up both of their goals in a 2-0 win that might easily have been 6-0.
United only managed 73 passes in the final third all game. Cancelo alone managed 46. Rarely, if ever, have a United team been so thoroughly outclassed in a Premier League game.
Guardiola has favoured Cancelo to Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back for much of the season. It isn't hard to see why - the 27-year-old is arguably the best left-back in English football.
You could make a strong case for him being one of the best right-backs too. The skills are transferrable and it's Cancelo's natural position. His versatility works nicely for Guardiola.
Cancelo (right) when a Valencia player in 2015 - he spent four seasons with the Spanish club
Gary Neville coached Cancelo for only four months but wanted Man United to sign him
Joao Cancelo's outstanding display against Man United is shown by his touch map (left) and passes (right - black is successful, yellow unsuccessful)
There were times, notably during his first season at the Etihad in 2019-20, when Cancelo didn't look like a £60million player, the most expensive right-back in history.
Even last season, despite being a regular starter in both the Premier League and Europe, Guardiola went with Zinchenko at left-back in the Champions League final against Chelsea, with Cancelo an unused substitute.
But things have reversed this season. Now the Portuguese player is undroppable, fully at ease on either side of City's defence and even playing a hybrid role in midfield when required.
'He is an athletic machine, he is a brilliant runner, a beautiful runner with the ball and he is a tough kid as well,' Neville enthused after Saturday's derby.
'He is strong, he is brave in his defending, he affects the game in defence and in attack, and he is delivering what I thought he would.
'He was playing left-back and he plays equally well as a right-back. He can play midfield. He makes this City team better and that is a hard thing to do.'
Cancelo has become Pep Guardiola's first choice at left-back in the early part of this season
He played a big role in helping City win the Premier League last season and is seen with Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva at the trophy celebrations
But Cancelo (left) was stuck on the bench as City lost to Chelsea in the Champions League final
