There are mitigating factors as to why Manchester United's squad is so stretched at the moment but there can't have been another fixture in their recent history that featured so many players essentially on a farewell tour.
Four of the 14 players involved against Norwich are essentially guaranteed to be leaving this summer, yet with seven games of a wretched season to go Ralf Rangnick was still forced to involve them in a must-win game.
The news that Nemanja Matic is going to head out of the door this summer with Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani has presented United with another headache.
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Take those players out of the squad and United will be left with four senior central midfielders in their squad - if you can include Donny van de Beek - and just one centre forward, who turns 38 next February.
Already Erik ten Hag has to be looking to sign at least two midfielders this summer as well as another forward and a right-winger, given still nobody wants to play in that position.
But this window can't just be about replacing those players leaving. Improvements are also required and United's defensive record this season is certainly a cause for concern.
With Eric Bailly and Phil Jones both after a move away this summer to play first-team football there is a desire to sign another centre back but there are also issues at full-back for Ten Hag to address.
That is especially the case at right-back, where neither Aaron Wan-Bissaka nor Diogo Dalot have convinced as long-term options. Wan-Bissaka is simply not effective enough going forward and Dalot is not reliable enough defensively.
Luke Shaw will get the chance to find his best form again under Ten Hag but Alex Telles is beginning to look like another bad investment. The Brazilian has had plenty of opportunities under Rangnick but he hasn't taken them and as the season progresses he's getting worse.
United's need to improve defensively and in midfield was evident on Saturday when Norwich City cut a swathe through them all too easily. Expected goals are an easy metric to scoff at but it showed the quality of Norwich's chances at Old Trafford were better than United's and that is of huge concern.
Part of that was the lack of a proper holding midfielder, but United were also disastrous at the back, especially down the flanks. Dalot wasn't up to it but Telles, in particular, was awful.
Dalot wasn't strong enough as play advanced down the United right for the first goal but when the cross came in it was Telles who had deserted his station, wondering away from Kieran Dowell to allow him the easiest of conversions.
When Milot Rashica almost fired Norwich ahead in the second half it came when Telles was once again hopelessly out of position. He was an easy target for the Canaries all afternoon.
Given the depth of the issues in this United squad, it's going to be impossible for Ten Hag and football director John Murtough to address them all this summer.
Ten Hag will need to work out what he needs as a priority once the appointment of the 52-year-old Dutchman is confirmed. Midfield is clearly top of the list, but it's far from the only area of this squad that needs improving.
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