On Tuesday night Casemiro and Cristiano Ronaldo might have sat down and watched Real Madrid's win in Glasgow while feeling a nostalgic pang for the big nights the Champions League can offer.
It ended as a routine win in the first group game, but the atmosphere marked it as a big occasion and the kind of night only the Champions League can deliver.
They won nine Champions League trophies between them in the Spanish capital, making winning the biggest prize in the club game in routine, but this week they had to settle for Thursday night football in Manchester this week.
READ MORE: Fred has given Ten Hag a new midfield problem
The game against Real Sociedad was their chance to make sure this was their latest appearance in this competition until the New Year, when interest goes from ice cold to tepid, but they might well find themselves in the team in Chisinau next week for a fixture neither would have circled a couple of weeks ago.
Casemiro is perhaps a little fortunate that Fred was so poor in United's midfield, as the Brazilian was little better. His passing accuracy with his head is probably better than his feet at the moment and it wasn't as physical or as mobile as Scott McTominay has been recently.
Ten Hag has spoken cautiously of the 30-year-old needing a "period of adaptation" and given he has started Antony in successive games within a week of signing, it might be an insight into the fact the former Real holding midfielder isn't as sharp as hoped in training.
He certainly looked sluggish in United's midfield on Thursday and as bizarre as this would have sounded a couple of weeks ago, McTominay has to be ahead of him at the moment.
Ronaldo would also have no complaints if he was back on the bench when Premier League duty resumed. His biggest impact was to give the assistant referees arm ache, being repeatedly caught offside.
He was praised for his impact against Arsenal on Sunday, but this was a disappointing night for him. It was his first appearance in Europe's B-list competition in a month short of 20 years and he is beginning to look like someone who has been around at the top of the game for that long.
He was swiftly outpaced by Aritz Elustondo when the ball broke his way in the first half and although he was offside, the fact he had such a head start against the centre-back and still couldn't stay clear said a lot.
He had the ball in the back of the net 10 minutes before half-time but never got back onside after one attack had broken down. It was the kind of slack centre-forward play that infuriates managers. It's becoming difficult to argue he is a better option up front in this team than Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford.
He briefly found space in the opposition area when United were chasing the game but his touch allowed Elustondo to recover and make the challenge.
Ronaldo's final major involvement was to win a free-kick 22-yards out in the final minutes. He lined up over the set-piece himself, let out that deep exhale before approaching the ball, but rather than expecting the net to ripple, it always felt likely it was destined for the wall or the Stretford End. It was the former.
Even with Martial injured, Ronaldo doesn't look sharp enough to be starting in this team at the moment. He will probably find himself back in the side next week and a start in Moldova certainly wasn't on the agenda at the start of this season.
This was a night for some of Ten Hag's reserves to state their case, but the two most likely contenders fluffed their lines.
READ NEXT:
