To the outside world, Cristiano Ronaldo had been expected to lead the line against Manchester City. As it happened, he was not in the country by the time of kick-off at the Etihad.

It is believed Ronaldo flew to Portugal once his absence for the Manchester derby became clear. He reported a recurrence of the hip flexor problem that troubled him earlier this year, which treatment could not soothe, and then took a flight to his homeland before Sunday.

Sources say the trip caused surprise among the United dressing room given the significance of the fixture. Injured players are not obliged to attend matches but it is said Ronaldo’s team-mates feel his presence at the stadium, given his aura and contributions this campaign, could have been beneficial.

United do not play again until Saturday, when Tottenham Hotspur visit Old Trafford, and Ronaldo might well contend that Portugal’s warm weather is conducive to a full recovery.

The temperature in Manchester was quite mild, with blue skies up above, when Ralf Rangnick’s shock line-up emerged. There was no Ronaldo and no Edinson Cavani either. Cavani had trained “well” for three days, according to Rangnick, but “at the end didn’t feel quite well enough to be able to play."

Instead of starting Marcus Rashford, United’s only available centre-forward, Rangnick picked Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba as two false nines in what appeared set up as a 4-2-4. Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga provided the width ahead of Scott McTominay and Fred.

United had trained in the system even before Ronaldo’s hip problem, so it is possible he would not have been in the starting XI in any case. “We decided with that formation to be as compact as possible and in transitional moments to create chances,” said Rangnick by way of explanation. “That’s why we’ve started this way.”