It was one of the lowest points in Manchester United's modern history. Their players slinked back to the dressing room trailing Brentford by four goals and Erik ten Hag looked set to be swamped by the scale of his rebuilding mission.
If the Bees could destroy United so easily, it didn't bear thinking about what the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool would do to them.
But fast forward three weeks and United look a team transformed. Liverpool were beaten against all odds and early Premier League pace-setters Arsenal as well, not to mention Southampton and Leicester inbetween.