Man Utd have endured a desperately disappointing start to the season and the challenge gets a lot harder now.
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick faces a defining run of games as Manchester United head coach
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An 89th-minute equaliser away at the Premier League's bottom side is never going to be a cause for popping the champagne corks at Manchester United, but Michael Carrick was right to call it a "small step" and a "good step" after dissecting events at Craven Cottage.
Matheus Cunha's deflected strike was a moment of good fortune that Carrick's side have certainly earned this season but the challenge now is to make sure it counts for something. Carrick wouldn't have lost his job even had United been beaten in the September sunshine in London, but the pressure would have been cranked up to almost unbearable levels.
As it is, that point buys the 45-year-old some breathing space. Make no mistake, this remains a seriously underwhelming and desperately dispiriting start. The momentum that felt like it was with United for the second half of last season and throughout the summer has been wiped away.
It's not just the results and a return of two wins from seven games in all competitions, it's the level of the opposition and the manner of the defeats. Brighton look an excellent side this season, but an historic collapse in the Carabao Cup is the kind of evening that can be difficult to wipe from the memory of those who will ultimately make decisions on Carrick.
Then there is the defeat to Hull that set alarm bells ringing on the first weekend of the season, and two morale-sapping draws at Everton and Fulham. This kind start has been squandered.
The problem for Carrick is that a forgiving start inevitably turns into an unforgiving test somewhere along the line and that kind of run is coming up for United. It feels essential that he use this three-week break to press the reset button and come up with some answers.
Performances haven't been good enough and there are concerns at both ends of the pitch. Defensively, United look open, there are question marks over their fitness, and the attack has gone off the boil after putting nine past Ipswich and Sabah.
After this break, United face Tottenham at Old Trafford in a game that feels like it will define the crisis club of the moment. It's a fixture United dare not lose. Despite a summer spending spree, Roberto De Zerbi's side sit bottom of the Premier League and look devoid of confidence and belief.
Victory for United will ease the pressure on Carrick, but anything else will only bring the mood down once again. Then comes a defining run of away games, with trips to Atletico Madrid, Leeds and Como in just over a week.
Perhaps it's too soon to describe that as make or break, but if the game against Tottenham doesn't go to plan, it might not far off. The intensity of Diego Simeone's Atletico will provide a demanding test and could serve as a guide to the progress made by both sides, given that United beat them in Stockholm in pre-season and looked relatively comfortable doing so.
A trip to Elland Road is always tricky for United and Leeds have started the season very well, while Como are playing with confidence and beat RB Leipzig 4-1 in their first home game in the Champions League.
It's too early to be weighing up the hypotheticals about what the results may mean, but it certainly feels like a huge couple of weeks for Carrick's United project.
The club's former midfielder has credit in the bank from the second half of last season, but it feels like it won't take much for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to press the panic button this season. United need another year of Champions League revenue to continue balancing the books and allow the kind of squad investment needed to challenge the elite at home and abroad.
If it begins to look like that is already slipping away, it would be no surprise if a change is made. That is what makes this elongated international break so crucial for Carrick and United.
He has brought himself some time at the moment, and what was right last week to call speculation over how long he has in the job "ridiculous", but every manager lives and dies by their results, and at Old Trafford they need to improve, even though the fixture list is only going to get harder from here.