Manchester United may have plenty of massive problems on and off the pitch that need resolving but that doesn't mean they can ignore the smaller, seemingly inconsequential ones.
Because they're never that inconsequential, are they? There were some setbacks over the summer, namely Cristiano Ronaldo's disruptive desire to leave and the neverending Frenkie de Jong saga but, still, Erik ten Hag managed to build some optimism ahead of the new campaign.
Performances in pre-season friendlies had been encouraging, the team looked to finally have a plan to follow, a structure to work within and a style to aspire to.
Several players looked rejuvenated. Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Fred, Harry Maguire and, especially, Anthony Martial all looked to have been instilled with new confidence.