The 1-1 draw with Fulham last Sunday was not the only shock for Manchester United's fans. The figures that followed were shocking too.
Startling statistics revealed by the "Reuters" agency placed the Red Devils at the bottom of the Premier League physically, opening a new front of criticism over the effort, spirit and discipline within Michael Carrick's side, which began the season dreaming of a grand return.
By the numbers: United bottom of everything
According to data compiled by GeniusIQ and published today, Monday, Manchester United sit twentieth and last in the Premier League in four crucial physical metrics: "distance covered at high intensity, time spent running at high intensity, total number of sprints, and time spent sprinting".
Those catastrophic figures heighten fears over the level of commitment within the team. Carrick's men had hoped to build on last season's third-place finish. Instead they sit twelfth ahead of the international break, which runs for three weeks.
Neville erupts: "the worst 15 minutes of my life"
The physical decline was not just silent numbers. It was clear to the naked eye in the second half against Fulham, and it sparked the anger of club legend Gary Neville.
The former United captain and "Sky Sports" analyst pulled no punches: "I have followed Manchester United since I was five years old, and these are the worst 15 minutes I have seen in my life. I have never seen such slackness in performance."
Neville branded the display "pitiful", pointing to the total surrender after the goal that put them ahead.
Walking instead of pressing
Running data alone does not decide the champion. The proof? Manchester City, the current league leaders, are the only side United have outrun this season. But the picture at Old Trafford looks more complicated than that.
United do not just prop up the running table. They also sit seventeenth for the proportion of time players spend walking while not in possession, a statistic critics see as evidence of passivity and a lack of pressing, especially when they do not have the ball.
Against Fulham, the crisis laid itself bare. United's players covered a full 6.6 kilometres less distance than Fulham's.
An admission from within
The criticism did not come only from the outside. It came from inside the dressing room. Brazilian Matheus Cunha, who scored United's goal in the match, said: "At the start of the second half, they put in more effort than us, and this is something we cannot accept. We always play better after conceding a goal, and the situation cannot continue like this," a statement that reflects the players' own awareness of the problem.
Now Michael Carrick enters the international break under enormous pressure. He has three weeks to fix a team that struggles to impose control for long periods, a team ranked physically as the worst in England. Restoring fitness may matter more than any tactical plan right now.