Returning from Highbury with only a point left the New Manchester United players deeply frustrated. Most of them felt they had done enough to win, only for Arsenal to hold on for a draw at home.
On paper, a draw was hardly a disastrous result for either side. But for a team that expected to win every match, it still felt like two points dropped. Arsenal took advantage of Manchester United's defeat to move top of the Premier League for the first time that season, while the Red Rebels sat third.
Their upcoming schedule offered little respite.
Ramadan would continue until November 14, another fortnight away, and during that period New Manchester United had two league fixtures, a League Cup tie and a Champions League group match to play. It was a demanding run, especially given the physical condition of several members of the squad.
The League Cup would almost certainly be left to the reserves and younger players. The Champions League, however, was different. Mourinho wanted qualification secured as early as possible, which meant the next group match had to be treated seriously.
Fortunately, it was at home against CSKA Moscow. If the Red Rebels played to their usual level, Mourinho believed they should win.
Once qualification was settled, the pressure on the squad would ease considerably.
Their two league matches during the same period were also at home, against West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth. New Manchester United had been flawless at their new stadium so far that season, and Mourinho expected that home advantage to count for something.
After discussing the schedule with his staff, he decided that securing Champions League qualification came first. Accordingly, for the November 2 match against CSKA Moscow, he named virtually his strongest available side.
After three group matches, CSKA still had hopes of reaching the knockout stage. Defeat in Manchester would leave those hopes hanging by a thread, so the Russian side approached the game with enormous intensity.
For a while, that aggression unsettled the Red Rebels.
CSKA created several dangerous openings in the early stages, and only a composed defensive performance kept them out. Vidić was particularly solid at centre-back, while Čech remained alert enough to produce an outstanding save from what had looked certain to be the opening goal.
The warning shook New Manchester United into life.
On a cold, wet night, they gradually began to find their rhythm, and once Beckham started imposing himself in midfield the complexion of the match changed. The captain suddenly carried the ball forward, exchanged passes with Kaká, then slipped a perfectly weighted through ball behind the defence.
Drogba used his strength to get across the centre-back, turned into the space and hammered a shot towards goal.
It smashed against the post.
The entire frame of the goal seemed to shudder.
The ball had stayed out, but the chance transformed the atmosphere inside the stadium. New Manchester United's tempo rose immediately, and so did the noise from the stands.
From that point on, the Red Rebels took control.
Drogba in particular became increasingly difficult for CSKA to contain. His physical strength had always been obvious, but his game was becoming far more complete. His first touch had improved, his movement was sharper, and he was learning how to use his body without becoming predictable.
In the 48th minute, Kaká threaded a pass into him on the edge of the area. Drogba flicked the ball past the defender with his heel, powered into the penalty area and, with the goalkeeper rushing out, drove a fierce finish into the far corner.
1-0.
After the interval, New Manchester United continued to dominate.
Kaká drove through the centre and disrupted CSKA's defensive shape almost single-handedly before breaking into the right side of the penalty area. With a midfielder closing him down, he curled an effort towards the far side of goal.
Drogba had already anticipated it.
He appeared in front of goal at exactly the right moment and redirected the ball with a header before the goalkeeper could recover.
2-0.
The contest was effectively over.
With the weekend league match in mind, Mourinho withdrew Beckham and sent on Fàbregas.
The young Spaniard immediately gave the Red Rebels a different kind of creativity. When Messi later replaced Robben, Fàbregas repeatedly looked for passes into the spaces behind CSKA's defensive line, forcing the visitors to retreat even deeper.
In the 81st minute, Fàbregas collected a pass from Curtis, escaped his marker and moved the ball on to De Rossi, who in turn found Messi. Messi released it first time towards Maicon, already charging down the right.
The Brazilian reached the byline and crossed immediately.
Inside the box, Drogba leaned into the centre-back, established his position and waited for the ball to arrive. Then, without needing another touch, he twisted his body and met it on the half-volley.
From that distance, the goalkeeper had no chance.
3-0.
It was Drogba's first hat-trick for New Manchester United and the first of his professional career.
After the third goal, even the usually intense striker could barely contain himself. He raced into the net, grabbed the ball and sprinted towards the supporters, waving it above his head as the stadium rose to applaud him.
His performance earned him Man of the Match and widespread praise afterwards.
Over the course of the evening, Drogba had scored with power, movement, aerial strength and improvisation. More importantly, he had dominated the penalty area in a way CSKA never found an answer to.
"I'm grateful to New Manchester United and to everyone here who's helped me improve," Drogba said afterwards. "I still feel as though I'm learning every day."
A reporter asked whether he believed he was now playing the best football of his career.
Drogba shook his head.
"No. I can still improve a lot. The manager keeps telling me that, and I believe him. I just want to keep scoring and helping the team."
Then he grinned at the television camera and held up two fingers.
Most viewers had no idea what he meant.
His teammates did.
The gesture was aimed squarely at David Villa.
Before the season, the two strikers had made a private competition out of their goal totals. Drogba had gone into the night one behind the Spaniard. After his hat-trick, he was two ahead.
Villa had played fewer minutes, of course, but that did not mean Mourinho valued him any less.
With four wins from four group matches, New Manchester United had secured first place in their Champions League group. Their attention could now turn towards the knockout stage and the identity of their eventual opponent.
Three days later, West Bromwich Albion arrived at the new stadium.
Villa, rested in midweek, returned to the starting line-up. Ribéry and Robben played either side of him, while Agüero started behind the striker. Beckham partnered Mikel in midfield, giving the young Nigerian his first Premier League start. Essien was still short of full fitness, De Rossi had played the full match against CSKA, and Yaya Touré had picked up a minor knock before the game.
Despite those absences, New Manchester United began with tremendous energy.
Villa, perhaps inspired by Drogba's hat-trick, led the way.
His first goal came from the edge of the penalty area, where he opened his body and curled a superb shot beyond the goalkeeper.
Soon afterwards, Ribéry drove a low ball across the face of goal and Villa arrived to turn it in from close range.
2-0.
West Brom's resistance began to collapse.
The Red Rebels grew stronger as the first half progressed, and Robben added a third after combining neatly with Villa on the right.
After the break, Mourinho's side lowered the tempo and became more controlled. West Brom tried to push forward whenever possible, but one such attack ended badly when Mikel intercepted the ball and fed Beckham.
The captain glanced up once and immediately sent a long pass over the defence.
Villa was already moving.
He burst clear, raced into the penalty area and brought the ball under control as the goalkeeper came charging off his line. With remarkable composure, Villa shifted the ball around him, rounded him completely and rolled it into the empty net.
4-0.
Another hat-trick.
Villa was still not finished. He continued attacking until the final whistle and came close to adding a fourth on two separate occasions, only narrowly missing both times.
When he appeared before the cameras afterwards, he responded to Drogba's gesture from midweek by lifting one finger and wagging it with a smile.
The message was obvious.
He was back in front.
The media quickly embraced the rivalry between New Manchester United's two centre-forwards. The Sun even published their scoring records over the previous seasons, pointing out that Villa had generally produced the better goals-per-minute figures.
Few questioned the Spaniard's finishing ability. Despite making fewer appearances than Drogba that season, he had once again moved one goal ahead.
That inevitably led to another round of speculation that Villa was somehow being undervalued, with some commentators arguing that his scoring record should make him the undisputed first-choice striker.
Villa found the whole argument amusing.
"I don't feel that Didier has a higher status in the squad than I do," he said. "We play the same position, and Ismaël is competing there as well. He's younger than us and still developing, but the manager sees all three of us as options."
Asked about claims that he had a difficult relationship with Mourinho, Villa laughed.
"That's nonsense. I get on very well with the manager. We speak openly. Sometimes he'll say, 'David, I'm thinking about starting you on the bench next weekend. What do you think?' And I'll tell him exactly what I think."
He smiled.
"Sometimes he listens to me. Sometimes he tells me why he can't. That's football. We understand each other perfectly well."
Then came the inevitable transfer questions.
Barcelona and Manchester City had both been linked with him.
Villa shook his head.
"My agent hasn't told me anything, and I haven't heard anything from either club. I'm not thinking about leaving. I'm happy here, I'm improving, and that's what matters most to me."
Mourinho was equally relaxed when reporters raised the speculation with him.
"My players are not leaving," he said. "They have told me that nobody has approached them and that they have no desire to go anywhere. They have contracts here, and they're professionals."
Another reporter turned the discussion towards New Manchester United's form.
"What do you make of the team's run at the moment? You're winning consistently in the Premier League and you've already secured your place in the Champions League knockout stage."
Mourinho considered the question for a moment.
"It's very satisfying," he said. "I tell the players often that this club has developed something unusual very quickly. From the beginning, it has expected to compete, and it has learned how to win."
His expression sharpened slightly.
"When players arrive here, they enter a dressing room where winning is already expected. That becomes part of the standards. Part of the mentality. Eventually it becomes part of the club's culture."
He nodded.
"And I want to keep building that culture."
While Mourinho enjoyed the confidence that came with another convincing run of results, Ethan had begun thinking about a very different problem.
England's next World Cup qualifier was scheduled for November 17.
But well before then, the argument over who should be named in the next England squad had already become one of the biggest stories in the country.
(To be continued.)