This was the afternoon when Chelsea reignited their season and, maybe, sent the Premier League torch on its way back towards Manchester. Not to United, who were beaten here, their dull limitations exposed by Chelsea’s vibrancy, but across the city to the Etihad Stadium.

An eight-point lead has been established going into the international break, nine in effect when Manchester City’s vastly superior goal difference is factored in, and even though we are only 11 rounds of matches into this campaign, it is already appearing to be a formidable gap to close.

Of course, it can happen, Jose Mourinho said so, and a serial winner such as the United manager should know, but the words of Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte before this predictably spiky encounter were the most prescient: the “big problem”, he said, were City. “If they continue in this way, it will be very difficult to fight for the title,” Conte had said.

City are continuing in this way, sweeping aside Arsenal, despite Arsene Wenger’s protestations of incompetence from the officials, and cheating from City, and it may soon begin to be an almighty tussle simply to finish in the top four behind them. Either way, Chelsea could not afford to lose this fixture, Conte could not afford to lose it, for sure, given his position, given the tension and given his antipathy towards his predecessor, Mourinho. There was always that edge.

It was there before kick-off, when Conte did not look Mourinho in the eye as the United manager offered his hand, and it was there at the final whistle when the Italian fist-pumped in delight before studiously marching away on to the pitch. He simply did not want to acknowledge, to receive, to interact with, Mourinho who has got under his skin but did not get the points.

“Antonio, Antonio,” rang round Stamford Bridge and it washed away some of the angst that had resurfaced with the chaotic Champions League defeat away to Roma and which had provoked recriminations and inquests and led to David Luiz being unceremoniously dumped from the team and his future questioned.