This could well have been a precursor to Saturday’s main event.
Under lights at the Etihad Stadium a side in blue shirts played with zest, swagger and confidence against a side in red that looked resolute, well-drilled and dangerous on the break.
In the stands, supporters with different loyalties and similar accents traded insults about 6-1 drubbings and empty seats while drizzle fell from the skies above.
Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho may not have been at this 1-1 draw between City and United’s Under 23s, but their mark was there for all to see in the Manchester derby curtain raiser.