43:16 - In something of a deceitful way for this passage to begin, Joao Cancelo gives the ball away. A little touch with the outside of his boot to a charging Cristiano Ronaldo would be fine during a Portugal camp but, despite the training drill feel to much of Saturday’s first half, this is the Manchester derby.
The City half - Ronaldo hasn’t had much of a chance to stretch his legs in this unfamiliar territory. He looks up for support and spots Mason Greenwood. Alas, there are seven swarming City shirts in between the two United attackers and Ronaldo duffs the ball to John Stones, somewhere in the middle of the pack. United won’t touch the ball again until it is nestling in David De Gea’s net for a second time.
43:23 - A pinch of tiki and a twist of taka and City work the ball back to Ederson. Ronaldo has charged fruitlessly towards the man with the lowest pulse in professional goalkeeping a couple of times already but already knows there’s no point. He’s trudging about near the right touchline and Fred is the furthest United player forward.
43:33 - Rodri, who might as well be playing in crushed velvet slippers and a smoking jacket for all the stress United are putting him under, takes a poor touch to draw Bruno Fernandes’s attention. However, the scene is quickly that of a seasoned dog handler teasing a giddy puppy as the Spain midfielder spins a pass out to the City right.
43:40 - Here’s Bernardo Silva, in the right-back position. You won’t score a goal from there, pal! He picks out Kyle Walker, who’s popped into midfield, where basically every City player is playing.
43:46 - John Stones has really enjoyed seeing the whole picture in front of him and pings a delightful pass out to Cancelo. City are ready to move now. United stand off, betwixt and between. But no, Guardiola’s team retreat to tease and prod a little more. It should really feel dangerous at 1-0, but it absolutely doesn't.
44:00 - Ederson’s got the ball again. He really makes City an 11-man team in possession in these situations. United must feel like they're playing against 22. Rodri then receives some half-hearted pressure from Scott McTominay and swings a pass out to Walker again.
44:03 - Bernardo’s still loitering. He takes Fred for a little run around and works the ball back to Rodri, who appears to have been granted the freedom of Trafford without any of the usual civic formalities.
44:20 - Ah, hello Phil Foden. City’s hometown hero stands up Aaron Wan-Bissaka and recycles possession. In previous derbies, the United full-back might have charged in to win the ball but he’s just as hesitant as his team-mates, having been befuddled by Foden and Cancelo over the course of the contest.
44:27 - Cancelo, Foden, Rodri, Walker. Pam, pam, pam across the pitch about 40 yards from goal. City are picking up the pace. Can United go with them?
44:30 - Walker fizzes a ball into Gabriel Jesus, who completes a first-time lay-off to Ilkay Gundogan before joining Foden in darting towards goal. Gundogan is facing goal 30 yards out and sees all bases loaded.
44:33 - Bernardo is outside his midfield colleague and collects the ball, shuffling in from the right. He’s scored from here at Old Trafford before, you know. But he also shanked one earlier in the game in a rare mis-step. Instead, the playmaker picks out Portugal team-mate Cancel on the other side of the field and sets off for towards the back post.
44:40 - City’s opener came from a Cancelo cross and this one is utterly delicious - a devilish delivery that dips on Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. The latter thinks it’s going out for a goal kick and normally it would be.
44:42 - But Bernardo Silva is not a normal player, his remarkable combination of technique and tenacity elevating him above most in the sport right now. He acrobatically prods a volley from a tight angle and De Gea’s Lev Yashin act descends into a Jim Leighton tribute as the ball squirms in at his near post.
That should not take away from the beauty of what City constructed over the course of 26 passes and 86 seconds to underline the huge gulf on show.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said United are still the biggest club in Manchester and perhaps he’s right. But Bernardo’s latest Old Trafford masterpiece showed the gap between these two football teams has rarely been bigger in City’s favour.
How much did you enjoy Bernardo Silva's latest brilliant derby day goal? Follow City Is Ours editor Dom Farrell on Twitter to join in the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments below
