Manchester United fans at Leicester City
United fans were in fine voice at Leicester City
Manchester United fans present at the King Power Stadium would have made the journey home late on Sunday night with the tune to 'We're Going to Bilbao' stuck in their heads.
The away end - possibly the best of the season in terms of atmosphere - was in fine voice throughout despite the unsociable kick-off time and after the convincing win against Real Sociedad, the familiar ditty of a European adventure ending in the host city of the final with a few too many drinks was sang on loop.
The players were serenaded with it after a convincing 3-0 win against Leicester City, standing as a group in front of the supporters and saluting them for their own efforts. It was another sign of unity and positivity after arguably the most uplifting week of the season.
But some staples were belted out in the away end, too. A loud chorus of 'We want Glazers out’ was part of a repertoire of anti-Glazer songs heard in the first half that was more notable for what it excluded rather than what it included.
A week after his running of United was part of a significant protest ahead of the Arsenal game, Sir Jim Ratcliffe got off scot-free this time. He was in Melbourne rather than Leicester, in the Mercedes garage for the opening weekend of the Formula 1 season, but when word reached him that he hadn't been compared to the Glazers this week, he might have let out a little smile.
That song was heard regularly the week prior, and plenty of supporters were critical of Ratcliffe. It was the previous 7pm Sunday kick-off when he was abused outside Craven Cottage, and it's been a song heard fairly regularly at Old Trafford since. The 72-year-old might find himself in the spotlight when details of next season's ticket prices are released in the next week or so.
However, the fact that the protest movement inside the King Power ended before Ratcliffe's name was aired suggested that his PR offensive over the last week had worked. Supporters won't have agreed with all that he said in a media blitz with his favourite organisation, particularly his paean to the Glazers over the weekend, but at least he is visible, and he is fronting up.
Then there is the stadium. Old Trafford's decline is a symbol of the stasis under the Glazers. A world-leading stadium allowed to age and decline while other impressive venues sprouted up and set a new gold standard.
Ratcliffe deserves credit for putting the future of Old Trafford at the top of his first year as minority owner and majority decision-maker. The plans unveiled on Tuesday for a new 100,000-capacity stadium showed the scale of his ambition, as did a barely believable five-year timeline for moving in.
The lack of anti-Ratcliffe sentiment on Sunday night suggested that he can win over matchgoing fans, although he still has plenty of work to do. He has made mistakes during his first year in charge at the club and will face criticism again before the end of the season, but he is also doing things very differently to the Glazers. For all his faults, the 72-year-old is trying to change things at United.
The stadium project feels a lot like his legacy. He wants to deliver success on the pitch and return United to the top of the table and is confident he will do so, but at least part of that is out of his hands. Other clubs will have a say in how much success United can enjoy.
What Ratcliffe can control is the development of a new stadium. He can arrange the finance, get the right people involved in the project, and turn a vision into a reality. That ambition and his open approach this week might just have helped him dodge criticism - for now, at least.