With confirmation he will leave City when his contract expires at the end of the season, De Bruyne was playing at Old Trafford in City’s famous sky blue for the last time.
It was his 22nd derby appearance overall, spanning a period of blue dominance over red in terms of titles and quality.
Operating in the number 10 role from which Jack Grealish had been dropped, De Bruyne started as though he was determined to make a significant impact.
He had an early shot after turning on to an astute Bernardo Silva pass inside the penalty area but it didn’t trouble Onana. De Bruyne then tried a through ball for Phil Foden, which he overhit.
Deeper into the opening period, he surged forward in the matter of old with a real sense of purpose. Even at 33, De Bruyne was able to outpace Diogo Dalot but Foden didn’t give the Belgium captain much of an angle and the pass went astray.
At the start of the second half, Matheus Nunes picked out De Bruyne on the right side of the penalty area. But the cross was too far in front of Marmoush. A few minutes later, from a similar position, De Bruyne took advantage of Nunes’ overlapping burst and stepped inside. For a second, it appeared De Bruyne would find the corner. Instead, his shot went straight to Onana again.
It was similar to quite a few of De Bruyne recent appearances. The sense of a dying of the light – certainly at this high level – was impossible to escape.