A trip to the side sitting bottom of the table would ordinarily be just what the doctor ordered after a chastening FA Cup defeat.
The problem for Manchester United is this isn’t any other season, and they’re not coming up against your usual basement dwellers.
Friday’s fourth round exit encapsulated everything that has been wrong with United’s campaign so far. Wasted chances and star players underperforming once again proved to be their downfall as a dismal season hit yet another new low against Middlesbrough.
