This derby certainly lived up to expectations, offering no shortage of thrills in a hard-fought affair.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring for Manchester City off a surprisingly un-Guardiola-esque Aleksander Kolarov long ball, headed on-by striker Kelechi Iheanacho for the Belgian to slot past Manchester United keeper David de Gea in the 15th minute.
Iheanacho followed up 36 minutes in as City began to look as if they would start to put the game out of reach.
United were offered a lifeline when newly-signed Joe Hart replacement Claudio Bravo fumbled a free-kick from deep and Zlatan Ibrahimovic replied just before the half time break, firing a stunning shot from just inside the box, making the Old Trafford faithful believe second half comeback could be on the cards.
While the blue half of Manchester dominated the majority of the first period with 65% possession and nearly doubling United's pass total, the second half was a close affair.
Both sides had their chances, the best for United coming after super-sub Marcus Rashford found himself between two defenders and Bravo after chasing down a long-ball. Despite putting the ball into the net, a deflection from an offside Ibrahimovic meant the Red Devils would have to look for another equaliser.
De Bruyne came close to a second but was denied by the post, while Jose Mourinho brought on Anthony Martial in the 80th minute for left-back Luke Shaw, switching to three at the back to get the most out of the United attack.
Despite five minutes of extra time, the score remained at 2-1 with Manchester City winning the first edition of the derby as they hung on to retain their 100 per cent record at the expense of United's to land a first telling blow in what promises to be a pulsating title race.
Mourinho's men will have to wait until February 26 for their second shot at the title of best in town.
