This time, there have been no histrionics. No drama. Cristiano Ronaldo left the sphere as anonymously as he had occupied it for the earlier hour and a half as a smattering of boos greeted the ultimate whistle at Outdated Trafford.
Sure, there had been the same old arm-waving. Moments when he shook his head and muttered to himself after issues didn't go his approach. You possibly can by no means ignore the person utterly.
However this was one other colourless show from Ronaldo, one which left him and not using a objective in six video games in 2022 - his worst run since a seven-match drought for United within the 2008-09 season.
The one time the Portugal star hit the goal with any actual power was when he appeared to unintentionally spit on team-mate Anthony Elanga at full time, catching the United substitute on the again.
It may have been a special story had Ronaldo utilized the identical energy to his shot in direction of an empty objective after rounding Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster within the sixth minute however Romain Perraud was in a position to get again and clear.
There was one other effort straight at Forster within the second half in addition to two moments when Ronaldo was offside earlier than scoring one disallowed objective and organising one other for Paul Pogba.
However that was it. 4 days after an indignant exit down the tunnel at Burnley, Ronaldo reduce a resigned determine when Stuart Attwell referred to as a halt to proceedings right here.
'Sure, in fact, he would have wished to attain,' mentioned United's interim supervisor Ralf Rangnick. 'I might have wished him to attain. He had his possibilities immediately.'
Ronaldo will wish to go once more when United meet Brighton at Outdated Trafford on Tuesday evening, and can nearly actually get his want if Edinson Cavani fails to recuperate from a groin harm.
Cavani celebrates his thirty fifth birthday on Monday and it's a damning indictment of United's ahead planning that their two strikers have a mixed age of 72.
The Uruguayan can't keep match and Ronaldo's powers are clearly waning after turning 37 earlier this month.
Rangnick confirmed Cavani's impending departure this summer season when he mentioned on Friday that it's 'apparent' the membership should purchase a brand new striker. However the Ronaldo debate will go on. Ought to he keep for one more season at Outdated Trafford?
There's hypothesis that he'll ask to depart if United don't end within the high 4 however what number of different Champions League golf equipment are going to need him at his age and be ready to pay the thick finish of £500,000 per week?
Do United even wish to maintain Ronaldo? In any case, the motivation for bringing him again within the first place was to keep away from the unthinkable prospect of him becoming a member of Manchester Metropolis.
He was signed to attain targets and 14 earlier than the tip of December was an honest return.
No different United participant has contributed greater than half as many because the membership's main scorer.
However there may be little doubt that Ronaldo's sudden return has had an affect on the general crew dynamic. Now the targets have dried up for him, it has turn out to be a good larger downside.
Cavani is on his approach, and with Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood going through unsure futures at Outdated Trafford, can United saddle themselves with the problem of getting to interchange as much as 4 attackers this summer season?
The ahead line is on no account the one space of the crew that wants addressing and there may be additionally the small matter of appointing a brand new supervisor.
It was clear that United's points run deeper than Ronaldo as they threw away the lead for the third straight recreation in opposition to a really spectacular Southampton.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's aspect adopted up their win over Tottenham and draw in opposition to Manchester Metropolis with a totally deserved level after Che Adams cancelled out Jadon Sancho's opener.
Hasenhuttl, a disciple of Rangnick's gegenpressing, questioned United's means to execute such an intensive recreation plan.
'To start with, when they're contemporary, it really works,' he mentioned. 'The issue they've is that they don't seem to be used to doing it for 90 minutes.'
TV pundits like Paul Scholes, Jermaine Jenas and Danny Murphy consider it comes all the way down to easy work ethic.
Rangnick is the person who should get extra out of this group and discover a technique to flip attracts into wins amid fears that United's top-four hopes are fading.
'It has at all times been a priority since Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) left the membership,' mentioned Rangnick.
'That was one of many the reason why he in all probability needed to depart and, in fact, outcomes like this do not make issues any simpler.'