Rodrigo Bentancur's near-immediate equaliser following the resumption was received like the iciest of cold-water showers by those huddling on the terraces and, thereafter, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford never quite recaptured the shimmering menace they possessed in the opening 45.
But when the frustration subsides (Old Trafford match-goers are not accustomed to draws – the last occurred as far back as April 2023, against Sevilla), there was one clearly uplifting thing to cling onto from the second half.
Indeed, it drew perhaps the loudest cheer of the day (beyond Hojlund and Rashford's expert goals): the return of Lisandro Martinez.