When Philippe Coutinho chipped the ball past David de Gea on Thursday night, Old Trafford fell silent. The tie was over. Yes, there was still another half of football to play, but the belief, from the players and indeed the supporters, had gone. It was 1-1 on the night and 3-1 Liverpool on aggregate, leaving the Red Devils needing three goals in order to make the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
On the face of it, elimination from Europe's second competition was not a disaster – far from it. As it transpired, Borussia Dortmund were waiting in the next round and unless the German side came down with food poisoning for both legs, United would have gone out anyway. No Champions League football through the Europa then and it seems increasingly unlikely that Louis van Gaal will be able to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Off the pitch, it is all going pretty well with sponsorship after sponsorship and revenue still very strong. Their form on the pitch has not harmed their performance off it - Ed Woodward is still booming in his particular role, so it does not matter. Except it does.
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Post Sir Alex Ferguson, this is as bad as it has been at Man United. David Moyes made a number of mistakes during his tenure and has been big enough to admit it in hindsight, but Van Gaal has made more, and he continues to make them. It is almost as if he wants to ignite a feud with the supporters as he continues to make bizarre decisions.
Full-back for full-back is one of the substitutions that has become a favourite of Van Gaal, while his favouritism towards a certain Belgian in the shape of Marouane Fellaini remains strong. Perhaps Van Gaal's legacy will be the development of a number of young players, but his hand has been forced this season due to injuries and a lack of experienced options.
Would Marcus Rashford have been given a chance had Wayne Rooney not picked up an injury? No. Would Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Timothy Fosu-Mensah have been given opportunities to shine but for defensive injuries? No. Van Gaal's ability to develop youngsters was shown at Bayern Munich and Barcelona, but times have changed and this is now a different football world.
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The wonderful thing about football is that it brings people together. It is the most beautiful sport in the world. United fans – home and away – continue to back their team, but the atmosphere at Old Trafford on Thursday, especially in the second period, was not right. The crowd were resigned to defeat and even worse - did not feel angry, just sad, and frustrated.
That is where Van Gaal has taken this great club. All that remains is frustration and hurt. Many that have backed the club for their whole life no longer feel anything, which is even more damning in itself. The enjoyment has been taken away and what is left is an empty shell.
It is not about winning or losing. That can happen. When Gary Neville hung up his boots, he said, in a nutshell, that it would be nice to see Man United win the league and the Champions League every season, but that is not real life. It does not work like that. It is not about losing, but about heart and desire. Supporters will always accept disappointments as long as it matters to the players, but it is difficult to see too many that have been seriously harmed by the sorry state of affairs this season.
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A picture of De Gea and Anthony Martial with the caption "Man United's first-team squad" has been circling social media over the last 24 hours and it is an indication of where they are at the moment. Usually a picture in that mould would anger supporters and invite a defence, but it is difficult to argue with it. De Gea deserves better than he is getting and the same can be said for Martial, who is expected to make everything happen in the final third at the age of 20.
Memphis Depay suddenly started to gain some confidence following a consistent run of starts, but the Dutchman has been consigned to the bench once again and did not even get on the field against Liverpool. Three goals were needed and Van Gaal brought on two full-backs, instead of a supremely-talented attacker that just needs an arm around him and a bit of encouragement.
Rival supporters claim that Man United fans have been spoilt over the last 20 years and that might be true, but even Arsenal have consistently secured Champions League football and always been in and around the top four. The supporters are not expecting league title after league title, but a place in the top four should be the very minimum requirement.
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Elimination from the easiest Champions League group was also embarrassing, as were a number of league performances this season. Losing (or drawing 0-0) is part of the game, but if you are going to lose, you cannot lose like they have been. You cannot go down without a fight. It just is not fun anymore. There's no excitement, no heart, nothing. United football, at the moment, is just there.
On Sunday, Man United will travel to an out-of-form and underwhelming Man City, who will be without their talisman Vincent Kompany. A Ferguson team would sense blood, and confidence, among the fans, would be very high entering the match. Is it this time around? Not really. Of course it matters, but to many, it will be just another game of Van Gaal football.
No-one would have blamed the Dutchman if he walked away after the Stoke City defeat on Boxing Day and there is no question that Van Gaal has been a wonderful manager during his well-travelled career. But it just has not worked at Man United and it has gone on for long enough now. Usually rival supporters would be 'trolling' United, but it is now their own fans.
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Life has enough pain as it is. Yes, football is about winning and picking up trophies. But it is also about enjoyment. It is about sharing the love of a football club. Travelling to Old Trafford in the past was about quick wingers, two strikers, full-throttle football, and it was brilliant. It was exciting. Now, it is almost as if 200 passes equal one goal and seeing one shot on target makes you fortunate.
It is almost like staying with a long-term partner for the sake of it. You know it is over and deep down, so do they. The enjoyment has gone and you just do not feel anything anymore. Day-by-day, game-by-game, you just survive and that is it. There is nothing else left. Man United, of course, will rise again and it will be even more sweet for those that have backed them through the pain, but it might well be a long road back.
Whether that road starts with Ryan Giggs or Jose Mourinho, or someone else, is a question for another day. But it has to start before this summer. Euro 2016 makes the window for signing players even smaller and there has to be a clear strategy in place. They said it would get better after Moyes, but the experiment of Van Gaal has been a failure and it has cut very, very deep.
Matt Law
