It was something of a nightmare return to the Theatre of Dreams for Wayne Rooney. He did not play badly - far from it, he was Everton's best performer - but after the warm reception there was the rout.
Rooney was substituted before Everton shipped three late goals that not just turned this defeat into a 4-0 drubbing but also dropped them into the relegation places. To add salt to that wound, the 31-year-old's replacement, Romelu Lukaku, cupped his ear to the Everton fans as their former forward celebrated his goal, making it five in as many Premier League matches since his 75 million move, before later claiming it was "just a bit of banter".
In a tale of two strikers, and to add to Rooney's angst on the day before he makes an appearance at Stockport Magistrates' Court, charged with drink-driving, he missed a crucial chance. A chance he would have dreamt of, in front of the Stretford End, where his name has resonated so often in the past 13 years, when the score was 1-0.
Everton were gaining some control after being overwhelmed at times during the first half. The ball broke to Rooney from Tom Davies, but his close-range shot was blocked by United's outstanding goalkeeper, David de Gea.
Would it have made a difference? Maybe. De Gea also saved well from Gylfi Sigurdsson and late on from substitute Sandro Ramirez, tipping over his long-range shot, but while Everton did not deserve to lose so emphatically, and while United did not play as well as they have this season, the result, if not the score, was certainly correct.