The absence of eight first-team players can't be overlooked at Manchester United at the moment, but the sight of Phil Jones and Juan Mata standing on the Old Trafford touchline waiting to come on against Chelsea in 2022 is the most damning indictment of the squad depth currently on show.
To give Mata and Jones the credit they deserve, they both influenced the game as substitutes for the final 11 minutes, a period when United finally got a grip of proceedings.
But on a night when Ralf Rangnick picked four teenagers on his bench, the sight of two 30-something players who will leave the club this summer waiting to come on wasn't lost on anybody. This wasn't a glimpse of the future but more akin to jumping in the DeLorean and rewinding to 2014.
