The Red Devils continue to struggle in the back-line, and that was never better evidenced than when Demba Ba was allowed to waltz through a non-existent back four to give Istanbul Besaksehir the lead in their UCL tie.

To that end, getting a world-class defender in during the winter or summer 2021 transfer windows would appear to be almost a pre-requisite. Red Devils are preparing a move for RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano next summer, however, his current boss, Julian Nagelsmann, thinks he still has some way to go to become the complete article.

“The mistakes he’s making are all starting the same way,” he said after their European tie with PSG. “He wants to pass the ball to the attackers right away once he’s won it. That simply does not work all the time.”

“I can see a learning curve. Against Hertha, we’ve had similar situations, the same at the start of the second half against Gladbach, where we end up defending one against two players. He grew up like this during his first year at Leipzig when this was the main tactic. Now the next step has to come.