After the controversy of his fighting talk with a female interviewer, David Moyes needed his Sunderland players to come out fighting for him on the pitch against the champions.
For while he has been lucky to survive in the wake of his threats to slap the BBC’s Vicki Sparks, he has been even more fortunate to avoid the sack following his side’s dismal season.
But this defeat did little to suggest that his team had adopted a siege mentality in light of this week’s revelations.
When Moyes needed them most, they again came up short.