The last time Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho shared a pitch for Manchester United was probably the highlight of last season, when more than 67,000 fans watched the 'Class of 2022' lift the FA Youth Cup.
Tagging any young United team as the 'Class of' is probably piling unfair pressure on them, especially when it came 30 years after the unrepeatable crop of 1992, but there was clearly talent in the Under-18 vintage last season.
They lifted the gloom in an unremittingly dark season and the brightest star of them all was Garnacho, who is already very much a fixture in the senior squad at the age of 18.
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He has already produced two memorable goals and three assists for Erik ten Hag's side this season and although he remains more of an impact player off the bench, it's becoming clear opposing defences are terrified of his twinkling toes.
His status probably made him a certainty to start against Charlton, but this was a momentous day for Stockport-born Mainoo. The 17-year-old has twice been an unused substitute in the Premier League this season but with Ten Hag keen to shuffle his pack ahead of the derby on Saturday, he was handed a debut against the League One side.
It didn't end up being the dream debut Mainoo envisaged. If Garnacho exploded onto the scene, this was very much an introduction by stealth. He probably wasn't helped by being fielded in a midfield three alongside Scott McTominay and Fred, who have been short of action themselves recently, but he found the going tough against the Addicks.
Charlton put in a physical performance and that was another factor that counted against the teenager. He would never have experienced this level of physicality and commitment in a Premier League 2 game. There was one dangerous break into the box in the first half and a decision to try a backheel to Anthony Elanga, rather than shooting, in the second.
He managed 35 touches in a slightly more advanced midfield role while Fred, playing a little deeper, had 64 in the same time on the pitch. McTominay had around the same number as Fred when his two midfield compatriots went off. Mainoo's pass completion rate of 85% did compare with his more experienced colleagues, with one of his 27 passes listed as a key pass.
The experience would have been invaluable to him, but there's unlikely to be many more minutes coming this season and a loan move could be next on the agenda for his development. Garnacho, on the other hand, is going nowhere.
It is evident he isn't yet the end product but he is a winger who influences games and gets supporters excited. In the first 10 minutes he terrorised Charlton's defence and every time he got the ball you could hear the clatter of seats as people rose to their feet.
He had the beating of Sean Clare in those early stages, cruising past him to set up Diogo Dalot for an early chance and speeding inside him to get a shot of his own away. He was the player who looked like making something happen.
To be fair to Charlton they did improve against the tearaway winger, learning the lessons from those early minutes to find a way to halt his breaks, but he continued to look like United's most dangerous forward.
There were a couple of rapid darts to the byline in the second half and the speed at which he runs with the ball is undoubtedly one of the strengths of his game. He also cut inside to sting the palms of Ashley Maynard-Brewer with one chance.
There is a need to improve the end product and become more consistent, but Garnacho is in the right hands when it comes to that. Ten Hag is a coach focused on improvement and at one point in the second half he criticised his winger for being caught offside when looking across the line.
It will be a return to the bench for the teenager this weekend, but if United need an impact against City, or someone to inject some pace into their attack or fear into the defence, he might be the man Ten Hag calls on.
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