Eleven years to the day that a Manchester United No.10 was dropped over a disciplinary issue, the incumbent was. Unlike Wayne Rooney's removal, Marcus Rashford's didn't backfire.
Whereas Rooney was absent altogether on New Year's Eve in 2011, Rashford was on the bench for oversleeping and missing a team meeting. His demotion was so temporary he was summoned at the interval. He scored the winner. Erik ten Hag and Rashford strolled off almost arm in arm.
This is Rashford reinvented. He would have struggled to overcome such a setback last season but he is now back in talismanic mode, with more than twice as many goals as he tallied last season before New Year's Day.