Kevin De Bruyne wasn't exactly at his best during the Manchester derby on Sunday.

Widely revered as the Premier League's best player, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Belgian magician was going to tear through Manchester United given his club's dazzling form in 2021.

However, it was actually Bruno Fernandes - to whom De Bruyne is so often compared - who hoovered up the column inches after teeing up United for victory with an early opening goal.

Man City 0-2 Man Utd

The Red Devils maestro held his nerve from the penalty spot after Gabriel Jesus brought down Anthony Martial, before Luke Shaw doubled the visitor's advantage during the second-half.

And try as City might to claw themselves back into the game, they simply couldn't get the ball past Dean Henderson with Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden both bungling key chances.

And there can be no denying that De Bruyne's blunt performance at the Etihad Stadium played a key role in City watching their Premier League winning streak slip through their fingers. 

Tough night for De Bruyne

We don't say that because De Bruyne's display was so poor that it will be slated for years and years to come but because his creative heartbeat is just so integral to Pep Guardiola's side.

Nevertheless, we can't sugarcoat what was a disappointing display from the 2019/20 PFA Player of the Year because his misplaced passes and lack of sharpness was there for everyone to see.

Don't get us wrong, it happens to the best of players and we still think De Bruyne - who is valued at £108 million - is one of the division's top performers, but it really wasn't his night during United's 2-0 victory.

De Bruyne's derby 'highlights'

And just in case you think we're throwing De Bruyne under the bus, Twitter user @JMNDComps has made sure that the world can see his derby 'highlights' with a sarcastic montage of his fails.

Now, due to some rather X-rated music being played over De Bruyne's missteps, we've had to use a muted version, but the point remains and you can check out the full compilation down below:

Oof, yeh, that's not the De Bruyne we know and love.

It's so bizarre seeing arguably the world's best midfielder and passer looking so out of sorts against a United team that seemed to be there for the taking given their poor form against the 'big six' clubs.

De Bruyne will be back stronger

However, for whatever reason, De Bruyne couldn't get a kick at times with the United midfield of Fred, Scott McTominay and Fernandes doing fantastically to snuff out his creativity.

Now, it must be said that De Bruyne has already done plenty of damage to United this season and none more so than having helped to effectively wrap up the Premier League title.

But at least City's chasing rivals can lay claim to having stunted Guardiola's star man when it came to derby day. Not that there's a trophy for that, mind.