A bespectacled Ruud van Nistelrooy paused for a long chat with fellow countryman Nathan Ake as they walked to their team buses to collect them from Wembley Stadium.
The pair appeared relaxed as they chatted and at one point a warm smile broke out on the face of Van Nistelrooy, dressed in a tight Manchester United tracksuit.
Perhaps Ake would have said how relieved Manchester City were that he was no longer playing, otherwise Pep Guardiola would now have been condemned to a fourth successive defeat in the Community Shield.
Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals in 219 games for United between 2001 and 2006, returned to Old Trafford last summer where Erik ten Hag gave him a wide remit as assistant.
However, United’s sloppiness in front of goal on Saturday, with Marcus Rashford the particular culprit, will undoubtedly force Van Nistelrooy to provide instruction on his specialism – how to get the ball into the net – in the coming days ahead of Friday’s Premier League opener against Fulham.
Ruud van Nistelrooy saw Man United struggle to take chances in the Community Shield
The Dutchman will look to improve United’s finishing after they scored just 57 Premier League goals last season
Although City looked the all-round team befitting the champions who finished 31 points above their neighbours last season, United had by far the better chances. If Rashford had scored like Van Nistelrooy instead of twice missing the target, FA Cup winners United could have won another trophy before City had a chance to win the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
United, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe as overseer of football affairs, have been busy in the transfer market in recent days with the arrival of two established international defenders from Bayern Munich: Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
But it is the United fans who have moved back north that are most concerned.
No one in the top half of the Premier League scored fewer goals than United: 57 goals in 38 league games last season. And based on the latest data, they are looking no healthier.
Rasmus Hojlund is out injured for six weeks, Joshua Kirkzee is yet to kick a ball following his £36m move from Bologna after missing the US tour, and Bruno Fernandes was far less effective as a false nine than he was in the FA Cup final.
Rashford scored seven goals in 33 games last season and hopes of a summer break now that he is out of the England squad for the European Championship did not immediately seem unlikely.
He appeared uninjured, but when he was in front of goal with no City defender nearby, he twice shot wide, prompting loud groans from United’s side of the stadium.
Rashford put his head in his hands after the second miss and it seemed a mercy that Ten Hag replaced him just before the end, sparing him the penalty.
Man United had two golden chances to put the ball in the net at Wembley
Marcus Rashford was unable to convert the ball from close range, sending the match to penalties
Although the manager tried to be kind afterwards – “I’m very happy to see him get into those positions,” he said of Rashford – it does worry him, especially as no one else seems to be taking the responsibility for the goalscoring.
Amad Diallo performed well outside the penalty area, but when the goal was entrusted to him, he opted to pass rather than shoot from a promising position.
Mason Mount was the intended target but he didn’t gamble quickly enough to get into the five-yard box and the chance was missed.
United had just two attempts on target all afternoon, with Fernandes seeing one easily saved by Ederson and while Alejandro Garnacho scored a superb goal from the bench, the Argentine is more likely to score quality goals now and then than provide the finishing touches United require.
It is rare for top players to require technical training by the time they reach Premier League level, but this appears to be an exception.
Rashford and others would immediately benefit from van Nistelrooy’s expertise in remaining calm and confident in stressful situations in front of goal and choosing the right finish.
It seems as though their entire forward line needs a dose of the selfishness and ruthlessness that Van Nistelrooy had in abundance as a world-class striker.
United’s current attackers would benefit from developing the ruthless efficiency that made Van Nistelrooy so beloved at Old Trafford
United legend Paul Scholes would agree, considering Van Nistelrooy the best striker he has played with, even better than Andy Cole and Wayne Rooney: “From the first day I saw him in training I thought, ‘Wow, what a player he is. He lived for scoring goals,’ is his assessment.
Ten Hag has tried to make it clear that he does not regard his compatriot, the former PSV manager, as a one-hit wonder, but given United’s current situation it would be unwise not to utilise Van Nistelrooy’s talent.
“He’ll work in different areas but I think the forwards will definitely benefit. He’ll have an impact,” the United manager agreed.
That Ten Hag is leading the team into the new season at all is surprising, given United’s 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace at the end of last season.
But with Dan Ashworth and other executives watching closely from their posh seats at Wembley, results and performance must improve as quickly as possible.
Ten Hag was pleased with the narrow 7-6 penalty shootout loss to City, mainly because European Championship finalist Luke Shaw was unavailable, leaving Lisandro Martinez and Facundo Pellistri to act as makeshift full-backs at various points.
Ten Hag’s team were without Luke Shaw, with Lisandro Martinez deployed as a makeshift full-back
The manager will be well aware that United had a poor start to last season, losing four of their first six games and the two home wins against Wolves and Nottingham Forest were both narrow and fortunate.
“We have a few days to prepare for Fulham. We have to use them very well and put a lot of effort into them,” Ten Hag warned, adding that Van Nistelrooy must put his shooting boots back on and show Rashford some tricks of the trade.