It should have been a wholly positive evening for Manchester United. Having ridden their luck at times, their attackers had sliced through Brentford to score three eye-catching goals and take three important points.
Improbably given all their recent issues, Ralf Rangnick's side could finish the weekend in fourth place if they beat West Ham on Saturday and other results go their way. Nobody would complain if they finished the season there.
But Manchester United is always a soap opera and the headlines were stolen instead by Cristiano Ronaldo and his stroppy reaction to being substituted for Harry Maguire with 20 minutes left.