Excitement, expectation and the warmth that only hope can bring swirled around Old Trafford on the opening day of the season.
Manchester United had just finished second in the Premier League and the signing of Jadon Sancho had followed. Old Trafford was at full capacity for the first time since the pandemic and supporters were in full voice, anticipating the beginning of something truly special. That alone ensured a rousing atmosphere and that was before Raphael Varane was unveiled on the pitch prior to kick-off.
United have got a lot wrong since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. That extends to something as insignificant as transfer announcements - Alexis Sanchez playing the piano comes to mind - but the unveiling of Varane exuded class, world-class quality and more.
Varane parading on the pitch increased the noise to yet another level in Old Trafford. The atmosphere was electric throughout the full 90 minutes and the players fed off the energy to produce an emphatic performance, something they've since failed to match.
If the season started with excitement, expectation and warmth, those emotions have been replaced by frustration, bewilderment and darkness. United were supposed to mount a Premier League title challenge this campaign and yet their hope has gradually deteriorated. After weeks of poor results, securing Champions League football now seems the priority. It's only November.
Just how did Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side get here? 88 days after the 5-1 win against Leeds and everything has changed.
There is a wealth of talent at Solskjaer's disposal and, while United have an embarrassment of riches in attack, the United boss had seemingly assembled one of the best back lines in the Premier League. Luke Shaw had just enjoyed the season of his career, Harry Maguire was sensational at Euro 2020, Aaron Wan-Bissaka seemed sound and Varane's achievements speak for themselves.
Yet United are drowning this season and their porous defence is threatening to anchor them towards the depths of the table.
While on an individual basis, Maguire, Shaw and Wan-Bissaka have regularly underperformed, the collective team statistics emerging from United's defence this season are deeply concerning because they're actually among the worst in the Premier League.
United have conceded 11 goals at home this term and only Newcastle United (13) - who are bottom of the table - have conceded more, however, in modern-day analysis we can use expected goals (xG) to reveal the true extent of the problem.
The concept of expected goals (xG) is relatively new in football but it's a helpful statistic that is becoming increasingly popular.
The metric quantifies a goal-scoring opportunity by assessing a chance based on a number of different variables such as shot location and shot type and so it offers a clearer picture of the level of a team's performance beyond just the score-line of games.
United have conceded a total of 18.5 xGA [expected goals against] and the club's with similar records are relegation candidates.
The Reds' record on this metric in defence is only marginally better than that of Watford, Burnley, Newcastle and Norwich. For some much-needed perspective, United's defence actually costs more of the starting backline of those four teams put together.
This is a catastrophic failure of United's personnel in defence and coaching staff - it immediately needs addressed.
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Expected goal (xG) data via Infogol.com.
