It was the 59th minute at the Etihad and Manchester United were on the fast track to embarrassment once again. It was so bad that Erik ten Hag saved Cristiano Ronaldo from humiliation "out of respect".
But the Dutchman had no issues throwing on another galactico with a string of Champions League titles to his name. Casemiro doesn't come with quite the same baggage as his former Real Madrid teammate and after a quiet introduction to life in English football, this was to be the moment everything changed.
It seems strange to think now that for four Premier League games in a row the Brazilian had been kept out of the starting XI by Scott McTominay. As good as McTominay was against Southampton, Leicester and Arsenal, the way United were pulled apart at the Etihad was the moment Ten Hag knew it was time to unleash the upgrade.
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At that stage there were actually some doubts about Casemiro. United had paid an initial £60million for a 30-year-old midfielder Real Madrid had already replaced and in his only start to that point, against Real Sociedad, he had looked sluggish.
He didn't make an immediate difference at the Etihad. United were 6-1 down within 14 minutes of his arrival on the pitch and the final scoreline of 6-3 felt like they had managed to save face in the circumstances.
But looking back now, that defeat and the change that followed is a turning point in this season. After losing across town United had lost three of Ten Hag's first nine games. In the 18 they've played since then they've won 15, drawn two and lost only one. There's a BC (Before Casemiro) and an AC (After Casemiro) in United's season and the contrast is stark.
Until he came on at the Etihad, Casemiro had played just 51 minutes out of the 599 United had completed in the Premier League. Since then, he's played 927 minutes of a possible 931 in the league.
To lay all of that transformation at the feet of Casemiro is overstating his influence, but only just. He is running Marcus Rashford very close to the club's player of the season so far.
It is why, when the second derby of the season kicks off at Old Trafford tomorrow, United will begin with a realistic chance of winning and going within one point of City, a scenario that felt unimaginable in the wreckage of the game at the Etihad on October 2.
Ten Hag's side have taken 23 points from their 10 games since that fixture, with City taking 19 points from nine games. It's fair to say that United's recent eight-game winning run has come against opposition not at the highest level, but they have still been efficient in claiming the victories. They've also beaten Tottenham at Old Trafford since that City game in what is generally considered their most complete performance in years.
There has been an improvement in defence and the form of Rashford has carried United to plenty of recent victories, but Casemiro has been a revelation. His presence as a holding midfielder has allowed Christian Eriksen to shift a little further forward and offer a duel threat with Bruno Fernandes.
One of the most underappreciated aspects of his game on arrival at Old Trafford was his passing, but his ability to move the ball forwards quickly, often breaking lines to find the feet of Eriksen, Fernandes or the forwards, has been vital to Ten Hag's game plan.
He came off the bench in midweek against Charlton, called on with a second-string team struggling to kill off the League One side. In the half an hour he was on the pitch some of his passes and switches of play were breathtaking.
His leadership and character have also been impressive. He didn't walk into the dressing room and lay down his medals on the table, but managed to win the respect of his teammates through the way he conducts himself and his professionalism. As one teammate said after his dramatic header secured a point at Chelsea before the World Cup, "he's a leader, just a proper man".
So where United have gone into previous derbies knowing they will lose the midfield battle against Pep Guardiola's side, they will line up at Old Trafford confident that Casemiro, Eriksen and Fernandes can hold their own. That trio will be integral to their chances of a first home derby success since March 2020.
That triumph was built on the counterattack but at the time it also felt like it was a significant statement. It extended an unbeaten run under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to 10 games, but it was a false dawn. If United do end their wait to beat City at Old Trafford tomorrow, then it's unlikely to fall into the same category. Players of the quality of Casemiro will make sure of that.
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