What a difference a week makes.
Exactly seven days after Erik ten Hag had forgotten to pick up the Carabao Cup at the end of his press conference at Wembley, the Dutchman was publicly accusing his players of failing to "fulfil their jobs" in the immediate aftermath of Manchester United's heaviest defeat in almost a century. Sunday's 7-0 battering to Liverpool at Anfield was a new low in the club's history and a result, unfortunately, that is not likely to be forgotten anytime soon.
After being hammered 4-0 on their last visit to Anfield 11 months ago, United arrived on Merseyside a different beast, fuelled by fresh optimism. Their resurrection under Ten Hag this season meant that their supporters in the away end were feeling optimistic about seeing their team score at Anfield for the first time since Jesse Lingard found the back of the net in Jose Mourinho's final game in charge in December 2018.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag blasts United players after Liverpool thrashing
Instead, those that did decide to stay until the end saw United concede seven in a game for the first time in the Premier League era. It was a stark reminder that, despite the title chatter that has crept in over recent weeks, the Reds remain a work in progress and a long, long way away from being considered genuine title contenders.
Their capitulation in the second half was a disgrace, with not one of the 11 players on the pitch stepping forward and taking responsibility. Bruno Fernandes, who so many have described as a shoo-in to claim the captaincy on a permanent basis from next season, did not display the leadership credentials of a player captaining United.
"I must start with Bruno Fernandes because I've had enough of him throwing his arms around at his teammates," Gary Neville said in his post-match analysis. "I've had enough of him not running back. He whinges at everybody.
"Going down - he got pushed down in his chest and goes down holding his face. He's got to put in a captain's performance out there, that wasn't a captain’s performance by a Manchester United player."
Fernandes' decision to go down after being tapped on the chest by Ibrahima Konate summed up the state of United's second-half showing. They should consider themselves fortunate that some of their supporters did stick it out until the final blow of referee Andy Madley's whistle.
But unlike after the 4-0 defeat at Brentford in August, videos of abuse being hurled at them from the away end have not surfaced on social media. Not yet, anyway. That is because most United fans, as angry as they had every right to be, would have, in the back of their minds, remembered just how much progress has been made this season, even though you would not have guessed it on Sunday's evidence.
Of course, that does not excuse a 7-0 stuffing at the hands of your biggest rivals in one of the most dramatic second-half capitulations ever witnessed, but it is worth remembering just how far the Reds have come in a relatively short space of time under Ten Hag. One catastrophic half of football, however bad it was, cannot undo all of the good work that has been done before it.
Ten Hag, even though they were absent in the second half at Anfield, has reintroduced standards that had been missing for several years before he picked up the baton. He has also given United an identity again and ended their trophy drought.
Losing to Liverpool, or indeed anyone, by seven goals is a painful result to have to stomach. However, looking at the bigger picture, United, even though it may not feel like it right now, are in a much better place than when Ralf Rangnick declared they could need 10 new signings after last season's Anfield collapse.
Ten Hag has won 30 of his opening 42 matches and it is a record nobody could have possibly forecasted after the 4-0 hammering at Brentford. The Reds bounced back strongly from that defeat in West London, so much so that you could argue that it did them good in the long run.
This defeat, however, was different in so many ways, even if it was another embarrassment. But considering Ten Hag described it as not being a performance from the United he knows, it suggests that he is confident of getting a much-needed reaction, unlike when Rangnick ordered the club to start again from scratch after last year's Anfield demolition.
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