Cristiano Ronaldo did something unusual at full-time. He strolled towards the travelling Manchester United supporters and applauded them in defeat.
Whenever an espionage agent enters a room they immediately check for its exits and it became a recurring theme of last season's monthly crises that Ronaldo would vanish from the pitch within seconds of the full-time shrill.
The Ronaldo of last season is a different beast from this season. That Ronaldo railed whenever his cage was rattled whereas this one appears more about brand management than game management.
Also read: Why Ronaldo captained United at Villa
Erik ten Hag's only misstep in his man-management of Ronaldo was to appoint him captain at Aston Villa 18 days after he refused to play for United. "Four games after he f----d off mid-game and now he’s captain," a supporter in the away end messaged. "As if that’s what the younger players should be looking up to."
Ronaldo found the armband so stifling he discarded it after half-an-hour yet he was hardly free from the shackles. Ten Hag seemed to excuse his struggles by lambasting United's "stupid" crossing.
"We delivered too quickly crosses in from too far and too much forcing and we don't help [Ronaldo]. We have to bring in the crosses in the right moment.
"The right moment was Christian Eriksen in the first-half in the pocket to deliver the ball to Cristiano at the far post, that was the right moment." And even that was deflected.
There is a bigger problem than the area United cross from: Ronaldo is almost always offside. Sometimes, he is not so much offside as in a different time zone.
From the press box angle at Villa Park, in line with the edge of the area at the Trinity Road Stand, it was apparent that if Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa let the ball drop to Ronaldo then nine times out of 10 he would be flagged, or retrospectively flagged if he somehow managed to stick a chance away.
Goals no longer come easily for Ronaldo. He has one in 10 in the league this season and three in 16 overall. He has not had numbers that depressed in a United shirt since he was aged 20.
However United cater for Ronaldo, it is counter-productive. If he drops deep, they are deprived of a focal point and only Marcus Rashford has dashed into the area vacated by Ronaldo to great effect, scoring the decisive goals against Arsenal.
Ronaldo turns 38 in three months and has to be pitted against a one-paced defender (Conor Coady) if he is to play on the shoulder. That is how he got his sole Premier League goal from open play since April.
Provided Anthony Martial is no longer beset by injury, he has to start at Fulham and Ronaldo has to be on the bench. Ronaldo will then doubtless fly from London to Portugal and United player and manager will get six weeks' breathing space - and distance - from each other.
Ten Hag could do with recharging his batteries beyond cycling through Hale and Altrincham. October was a gruelling month for United - nine games in 28 days - and Ten Hag did not rotate enough in the Europa League group games. A fatigued United wilted in the rain against a reenergised Aston Villa on Sunday.
Standards are nonadjustable, though. United lost badly to end a bad week, particularly for the manager. Ten Hag bristled at the suggestion he was not as proactive with his substitutions at Villa as he was at Real Sociedad on Thursday yet the difference was stark.
In San Sebastian, United made personnel and formation changes at 1-0 up and in need of a goal in the 58th minute. At Villa, Ten Hag's faith in the starters who were lifeless for the majority of the first-half was misplaced and the first changes were 20 minutes into the second. Villa's two-goal cushion had long since been restored.
Ronaldo's defenders have ample excuse cards to pull out from the pack. As incompatible as Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes sometimes are, he must have wondered what he had done to deserve two starts with Donny van de Beek behind him.
Ten Hag is probably the only football manager on the planet - count school team, walking football and Sunday league gaffers - who would have started Van de Beek on Sunday. Ten Hag is better than stooping to nepotism.
Van de Beek resembles a Glyndebourne enthusiast who has ended up at Glastonbury by mistake. He could not keep up with the pace against a La Liga side, so he was never going to at a Premier League team under a new manager three days later. Ten Hag had to know that.
It set a dangerous precedent. Van de Beek played in No Man's Land against Sociedad yet kept his place. The most balanced midfield available to Ten Hag was Fred, Casemiro and Eriksen yet in the trio's only start together against Sociedad in September, Fred was the No.10.
The attack was further blunted by Rashford's role on the right, where he has never excelled. Ten Hag knew that.
"Do you think he's suited to that position, out there on the right?" a reporter asked at the post-match press conference.
"No," Ten Hag began. "Yes, he can play there, also his stats, he scores across all the three positions almost equal. But for me, best position for Rashford is No.9 or coming out from the left, clear. But we have in our frontline problems, so for this game it was the best balance."
One of those problems is United have enough right-footed left wingers to fill a sizeable lift: Rashford, Martial, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho. Facundo Pellistri is ostensibly a right winger but has not had a kick for United more than two years on from his €10million transfer.
Ten Hag does not fancy Pellistri, so one of the one-footed five had to be on the right but relocating Rashford was unwise when his league form had been so promising. Garnacho was creditable at Villa from the left but is young enough to chance his arm on the opposite side.
The setbacks of failing to top their Europa League group and a first Premier League defeat at Villa since John Major was prime minister have come at a reasonable time for United. They are a third of the way through the league campaign and experiments have failed with the autumnal leaves sodden and fireworks illuminating dark evenings.
United now have to write off Van de Beek, use Ronaldo more specifically (or sparingly), readdress the lopsided attack and finalise a shortlist for a goalscorer to recruit in the winter or the summer.
There are still opportunities for Ronaldo to engage with the away-dayers in a happier mood.
READ MORE:
