Daniel Farke took some consolation about how his Leeds United players performed when the result of their game at Arsenal was beyond doubt.
The Gunners were by far the better side in their first home game of the season, and led 4-0 inside an hour. At that point it could have been a cricket score, but Leeds kept the damage to 5-0.
"I think it's fair to say Arsenal deserved to win this game, they were the better side," reflected Leeds manager Farke. "They deserved to win with a proper goal difference.
"I'm not sure it was actually a 5-0 because (they had) five shots on target and scored with all five.
"Long story short, when a team like Arsenal is on it - a team who in the last three years were probably the best team in the whole of Europe, at least in consistency you could argue compared to the title winners - it's always difficult.
"You wish for this fixture to be after the Champions League perhaps but it's their first home game of the season when everyone is fully on it on the back of for them an important win away at Man United and the new signing (Eberechi Eze) is there before kick-off. The whole stadium is buzzing.
"It's always a difficult game for a newly-promoted side.
"You could feel it in the first 10 minutes, they were all over us and we were a bit nervous but we survived this period without giving one chance away.
NOT OVER-ANALYSING: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)placeholder image
NOT OVER-ANALYSING: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
"We got a foot into the game, got more and more confident, got good situations on the counter-attacks with Daniel James and a few set pieces. After 35 minutes we had probably the best chance of the game with Pascal Struijk's header and a fantastic save by David Raya.
"It was a bit annoying how we conceded the goals. Two goals from set pieces, more or less the same way, Timber between my strongest headers (Struijk and Joe Rodon) who should have shown a bit more awareness and two goals in added time (one in each half)
"We were under-estimating their counter-pressing with (Declan) Rice for the first goal to score from a difficult angle and the second a bit the same. We under-estimated the counter-attack.
"I haven't watched it back but the penalty looked a bit soft, if I'm honest.
DEBUT: Leeds United substitute Noah Okafor (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
DEBUT: Leeds United substitute Noah Okafor (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
"For a team like us when everything comes together and they are on it, effective, and score five goals from five shots on target, it's always difficult.
"It's not a season-defining game for us.
"We are disappointed but we wont' over-analyse this game too much.
"Yes there were one or two things we could have done better, no doubt about it, otherwise we wouldn't have conceded twice in added time and two set pieces."
But the character of his side was at least something for Farke to cling to.
"It's difficult for them because we have not last a game in pre-season, we had one loss in the last 30 last season so we're not used to losing a football game, especially by this result, but we wanted to play in the best league in the world and if you want to play in the best league in the world against the best sides, you have to accept these days can happen," he said.
"You don't have to dwell on it, you have to move on.
"After 4-0 sometimes you fall apart, everyone is playing his own game and the body language is bad.
"We stuck together with the substitutions and didn't allow them after the 4-0 more chances. We could have got a consolidation goal.
"It was always clear we would lose this game but I quite liked that we showed this mentality and didn't fall apart.
"The unity with our supporters, I think they had a good feeling that it was just a bit too much for us, it wasn't the mentality, the character or the fight."
Largie Ramazani and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were not included in the Leeds squad. The latter was a fitness decision, but Farke stressed that preferring Noah Okafor to make his debut over the former was not a sign that the winger's time at Elland Road is coming to an end.
"It was just due to the decision about Noah Okafor, not against Largie," stressed Farke, who brought Okafor on at 4-0. "Willy Gnonto has played well in the last game and it was always clear he would start in this position.
"We had a more solid defensive worker like Jack Harrison who can also play in the full-back position and the offensive spark with Noah."
Ao Tanaka will be assessed after the Japan midfielder came off with a medial cruciate knee ligament injury in the second half.