When Manchester United kicked off their Champions League campaign at Bayern Munich on 20 September, it was impossible to ignore the sense of foreboding.
The season had started badly - three Premier League defeats in five - and the priority at the Allianz Arena was not, seemingly, to win or draw but to avoid humiliation.
The 4-3 defeat was a seven-goal thriller in name only, Bayern comfortable once in front, their superiority pronounced over a United team unable to fire in more than fits and starts. Still, it was not a disaster for United. They knew their Champions League progress would not rest on this match.
As United departed the competition on Tuesday night, rock bottom of Group A, without even the consolation of a drop into the Europa League, it was after another one-goal defeat by Bayern, this time 1-0 at Old Trafford. Again, the Bundesliga champions were just too good. Already qualified for the last 16 as group winners, they lacked cutting-edge, those do-or-die imperatives that bring the best out of the very best. Which was a relief for United.
It was a strange occasion, so lacking in basic excitement. The Bayern manager, Thomas Tuchel, had talked beforehand of the "electricity" of Old Trafford. Well, the lights were on but...
United brought what they had at the outset, pressing hard, playing for the shirt and the manager, Erik ten Hag. But it was as if everybody in the stands knew it would not be enough. The home crowd seemed resigned to their fate. There was no sustained anger at the end, just brief booing from those who had stayed. At least it was not a humiliation.
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