Just when some thought that Manchester United were on the way to putting together an impressive season, they were served a timely reminder of how far the team as currently constructed still has to go.
The performance against Aston Villa was an incredibly poor one, never really looking like they were going to get anything from the game. They were 2-0 down inside the opening 11 minutes, and while they would get a goal back just before the interval, Jacob Ramsey's strike early in the second half killed off the match as a contest.
United are still in a promising position in the table, sitting three points off fourth with a game in hand. However, there is no guarantee that they will maintain their current pace considering their obvious lack of consistency.
As a result, the belief held by some that the team are back among the top teams in division may well be off the mark.
Gary Neville has doubts about Manchester United team
Gary Neville certainly has his doubts about claims from some of the club's supporters that Manchester United 'are back'.
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, the Sky Sports pundit said that the team is still miles away from competing with the best sides. He also criticised their spending in the summer, believing that it is difficult to see where such a level of investment has gone.
Overall, I'm not wholly convinced by Manchester United at all. There is this idea that Manchester United 'are back'. They're not, they're nowhere near Manchester City.
They're more watchable and they've got a bit more fight...
They keep getting injuries to his (centre back) pairing, he can't keep a pair. Raphael Varane keeps getting injured, Maguire came in last week, Lindelof was in midweek and today. That's a real problem.
Manchester United's front three, they are the weakest out of the top six...
Their front players aren't as good as they should be. Ten Hag is getting the maximum out of them.
I don't know where the money has gone again. You always feel like that with United, you look at the spend over the last four or five years and they're still not as good as they should be.
Ten Hag needs three or four transfer windows in the job. There are signs that they are getting better, but they're not 'back'.
'Back' is when you see them really challenging at the top, when they are a fantastic football team. That's not happening at this moment in time.
Erik ten Hag will recognise that the team are not near where they want to be.
Of course, any shortcomings in the team is not down to a lack of spending.
Manchester United have spent more money than any club in world football over the last five years or so, including over £220million on Antony, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, and Tyrell Malacia last summer.
While some of those players have made an impact, you would have expected them to be more influential at this stage.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out, although it is clear success in the months is ahead is far from a given for Erik ten Hag.
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