A keeper that can’t use his feet and forward line lacking mobility – there is not a single element of this side that works.

it was less than a year ago that Manchester United won at West Ham to stretch their record unbeaten league run away from home to 29 games. What a happy, uncomplicated time that must seem for them now, in the wake of a seventh successive away defeat with a cumulative score of 2-21.

This is United’s worst away run since 1936. Was the performance in west London worse than the 5-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in 1972? It’s probably too early to be sure, but Saturday was haplessness at a volume that will resonate through the generations.

Which is not to say things were good last September. United had just lost away to Young Boys. They had not played well at Southampton or Wolves. The ease with which Villarreal had restricted them in the Europa League final was still fresh in the mind. Ole Gunnar Solskjær, though, was good at setting up his team to sit deep and play on the break – at least until Cristiano Ronaldo was signed