The solitary moment befitting this occasion came when evening was drawing on and only seven minutes remained: a beautiful, clipped pass from the right outstep of Anthony Martial which Jesse Lingard, a substitute growing in stature at Manchester United, rose to lift on to the crossbar, with all defenders lost and out of sight.

It was the briefest, thrilling hint of why the 19-year-old French player has allowed United to begin to think they can believe again, yet one which had frustration attached. Nowhere in manager Louis van Gaal’s analysis of why United mustered only one shot on goal in a game which delivered up two was there an admission that Martial, the ideal spear for United’s attack, had been consigned to the margins because of a misplaced faith in Wayne Rooney. Instead, the long-haul flight from Moscow and Van Gaal’s own misplaced sense of injustice both featured.

The evidence that City feared Martial was right there in front of Van Gaal’s eyes. Two of their three first-half bookings were incurred by players – Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho – who hacked him down to prevent him taking full flight.

Yet Rooney led the line, and there was no more graphic paradigm of how much he was labouring than the 71st-minute moment when Lingard located him on the right side on the United box. He shipped the ball square, into nowhere, when the trigger reaction you had expected was a drive towards goal. It is no exaggeration to say he looked like he wanted rid of the thing.

Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings David De Gea - 7 out of 10 Facing just one shot on target, the Spaniard will have been expecting a more taxing afternoon but nonetheless marshalled his backline well at set-pieces. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Antonio Valencia - 5 out of 10 Was exposed all too often by City’s faster and more industrious talents before becoming a liability when the anarchic Kevin De Bruyne switched sides. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Phil Jones - 7 out of 10 Reduced Wilfried Bony to a mere irritant rather than a credible threat, forcing the Ivorian striker out wide to search for scraps which seldom came his way. 2015 Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Chris Smalling - 7 out of 10 Described by his captain as ‘one of the best three centre-halves in the world,’ the England man continued his impressive start to the season with another assured outing. 2015 Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Marcos Rojo - 8 out of 10 Delivered a minor masterclass in the art of man marking to nullify Kevin De Bruyne’s threat as the Belgian endured a frustrating afternoon. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Bastian Schweinsteiger - 7 out of 10 A calming presence amid a hectic midfield battle, the experienced German made amends for his lack of pace with pin-point accuracy on his distribution. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Morgan Schneiderlin - 7 out of 10 Shadowing the imperious Bastian Schweinsteiger in the centre, the former Southampton man ghosted into pockets of space carelessly afforded to him by his City counterparts. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Juan Mata - 7 out of 10 Surrendered possession cheaply in the opening period but become more of a menace after the restart, in a more advanced role just behind Wayne Rooney. Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Ander Herrera - 7 out of 10 Perhaps unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty after a tangle of legs with Raheem Sterling, the little Spaniard has a knack of finding himself behind enemy lines. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Anthony Martial - 6 out of 10 Had little room to manoeuvre on the left wing, a position Louis van Gaal has insisted upon lately, and inevitably cut an isolated and frustrated figure. 2015 Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Wayne Rooney - 7 out of 10 After turning 30 on Saturday, the United skipper led from the front. Delivering a display epitomising his responsibilities, his most memorable contributions came in front of his own goal. 2015 Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Joe Hart - 7 out of 10 Forced into making a decent save late on to deny Chris Smalling from point blank range, the England goalkeeper remained alert despite a largely uneventful shift. 2015 Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Bacary Sagna - 7 out of 10 Refused to gallop down the line as often as City supporters would have liked, preferring to quell the dangers of Anthony Martial - to great effect. 2015 Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Vincent Kompany - 7 out of 10 Booked in the first half for a succession of clumsy challenges, the Belgian was forced to walk on eggshells in the second period. Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Nicolas Otamendi - 7 out of 10 Rarely giving Wayne Rooney a moment of peace, the indomitable Argentinian defender is settling into his new role at City with the authority it demands. Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Aleksandar Kolarov - 7 out of 10 Dealt with the unpredictable nature of Juan Mata with swagger before enjoying a relatively uneventful final 23 minutes up against Jesse Lingard. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Fernando - 7 out of 10 An assured, if unremarkable, outing from the Brazilian meant it would have taken a Herculean effort by the United attackers to break the deadlock. Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Fernandinho - 6 out of 10 Impotent in front of goal and often absent at the back, this was an exasperating afternoon for the usually so comfortable midfield general. 2015 Manchester United FC Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Kevin De Bruyne - 6 out of 10 A marked man throughout, the Belgian was forced into rushing any opportunity which came his way. Enjoyed more success up against Antonio Valencia on the left. Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Yaya Toure - 6 out of 10 Sarcastic jeers greeted the Ivorian midfielder’s 77th minute substitution after he spent the afternoon trying and failing to singlehandedly bamboozle his way through United’s defence. 2015 Getty Images Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Raheem Sterling - 6 out of 10 Had the opportunity to wreak havoc down the right, up against a cumbersome Antonio Valencia, but his turn of pace proved more effective when tracking back. Manchester United vs Manchester City player ratings Wilfried Bony - 5 out of 10 Increasingly isolated in attack, this was an outing which will do little to silence the unhelpful – and unflattering - comparisons to injured Sergio Aguero. 2015 Manchester United FC

The spotlight was all the fiercer because Van Gaal had put him up there, in the eye of the attack and the storm. Needless to say the Dutchman treated a diplomatic inquiry about Rooney last night – couched in terms that he is trying and perhaps trying too hard – with rudeness and discourtesy. “I have to talk every week about Rooney, why?” he said. “Because he is a top player,” was the reply. “Then you have to write it. It is your opinion. I don’t give any more answers about Wayne Rooney. I am sick of them.” No, not “opinion” but the evidence of what we see in plain view. Rooney has made fools of too many doubters for any to suggest that, at 30 on Saturday, the striker in him is history, but the very least to be said is that the man is struggling. The only vivid moment he contributed in the first half came when United’s trainer pulled an industrial-sized stapler from a kit bag and applied it to a cut on Rooney’s head.

City’s own weapons were blunt, too. Raheem Sterling, removed after 55 minutes, was a shadow of his best and Kevin De Bruyne was overwhelmed by an occasion which an impressive Marcos Rojo cut him out of. You wondered why Manuel Pellegrini had not taken a look at a team-sheet and viewed Van Gaal’s puzzling choice of Antonio Valencia, at Matteo Darmian’s expense, as an opportunity for Sterling to exploit. Much of City’s work came down Rojo’s flank instead. Wilfried Bony offered nothing to fear. Sergio Aguero’s hamstring lay-off proved significant, when all was said and done.

For all that, the result will satisfy both sides, not losing being considerably more significant than not winning. It is a curious time for these clubs – harbouring high hopes of the months to come, yet neither really knowing if they will find the consistency to achieve something historic in a Premier League season which seems destined to be more fluid. Breakthrough moments could wait for a day when less emotional capital was at stake. It was the supporters who suffered. When neither goalkeeper had been gainfully employed at half-time – not a solitary shot on goal in that period – the analysts at Opta scoured their 19 years of data for a precedent across one half of an Old Trafford home game. They found none.

At the end of it all, Pellegrini looked the more satisfied and he did not deny Van Gaal’s inference that he had travelled across the city with no more ambition than to dig in. His side go back to the top of the Premier League, though with no great sense of security or superiority. The recall of Kompany need not have occupied so much pre-match conjecture. The Belgian commanded his box and dominated Rooney, offering a strong riposte to the questions Pellegrini had raised by dropping him for two games. It is one of those occasions when defensive quality should be given its dues. Nicolas Otamendi impressed for City, too. Chris Smalling’s positioning was excellent, even though his distribution is distinctly mixed.

United argued bitterly that Sterling had tripped Ander Herrera as he went to challenge him on the edge of his own box. The complaint was dubious. Herrera seemed to be looking for the foul. Penalty claims about Otamendi’s challenge on Rooney, four minutes from time, were equally thin.

Fernando and Juan Mata battle for the ball

When Sterling had gone, De Bruyne was switched to the left flank to challenge Valencia, though to no material effect. A full 82 minutes had elapsed when a goalkeeper was – after a fashion – put to work. City substitute Jesus Navas’s arced shot bounced several times before landing at the feet of David De Gea.

Martial tried to create something out of the margins. The plaintive look on his face when he took the ball past Bacary Sagna, 15 minutes from time, but ran it out over the dead-ball line under the close watch of Fernandinho, said much.