No member of the Manchester United squad will have felt this weekend's 3-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea more keenly than Marcus Rashford.
The 22-year-old was, along with his teammates, far from his best in the loss, and he was withdrawn in the 79th minute having failed to make much of an impression on the match.
It was a rare quiet performance from the England international who has shone in recent weeks, scoring three times and created one assist in the four games before Sunday's disappointment at Wembley.
Perhaps even more impressive than his form going forward, however, has been how much of a leader he has looked both on and off the field recently, maybe encouraged by the superb charity work he did during football's time off.
He is now regularly seen barking instructions at teammates, while there are reports that he has become a vocal presence in the dressing room too.
It seems just the other day that Rashford was a teenage sensation showing glimpses of what was to come, and his transformation into the mature commander he is today has been a joy to witness.
Rashford's reaction to the defeat against Chelsea sums up how he is beginning to shoulder the extra responsibility which comes with being a leader.
He took to Twitter on Monday to say: "There’s no where to hide this morning, we just weren’t good enough yesterday. I’m gutted. But we have to brush that off and prepare for 2 huge games this week. Your support is everything and we never take that for granted. We’re going to need every single one of you behind us x"
The fact Rashford was able to appreciate that United should have been much better may come as encouragement to supporters of the club, and demonstrates that he and his teammates now know exactly what they are capable of following their superb recent run of form.
The sign of a good team is the ability to bounce back from adversity, and if they can now go on to secure Champions League qualification by beating West Ham and Leicester in the Premier League this week, the FA Cup loss will be seen as just a minor bump in the road.
With strong figures such as Rashford among their ranks, you wouldn't bet against it.
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