There are days when you hold your hands up and say 'yep, we were beaten by the better side' and then there are days when you leave the stadium wondering how on earth Bristol City are walking away empty-handed.
On an evening when Nigel Pearson stood at the edge of his technical area soaked to the bone in the pouring rain, he would have been thinking the latter, like the majority of us who watched the action unfold.
That's the Championship for you. Sheffield United delivered one of the most uninspiring away performances seen at Ashton Gate this season but grabbed the all-important goal to end the evening in third spot, three points adrift of the top.
City dominated for the majority of the game, Alex Scott providing another midfield masterclass, but they just couldn't hit the back of the net against a side who have conceded just 16 goals all season.
Teams can normally always bank on at least one error at the back which again proved costly when Iliman Ndiaye capitalised on a mix-up between George Tanner and Zak Vyner to nod the ball beyond Max O'Leary at the back post at the beginning of the second half.
It was cruel and the frustration seemed to spread onto the pitch when Tanner was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for a reckless challenge on James McAtee. Although if there was any consistency, Oliver Norwood should have also received a red card for a shocking tackle on Joe Williams.
Here's the verdict from a tough night at Ashton Gate.
The defensive options
If City already weren't light of options at the back, then Tanner's red card has thrown another spanner in the works ahead of Saturday's trip to Middlesbrough. Before we go into the tackle it's worth noting that Tanner, on the whole, enjoyed a decent evening at the back.
He was never particularly troubled defensively and almost scored a wondergoal when he cannoned the post from distance. But a slight lapse in communication allowed Ndiaye to be unmarked at the back before a moment of madness in the final few minutes of the contest.
There's no glossing over it. It was an awful challenge on first viewing and it looked even worse when the footage was slowed down. Although United manager Paul Heckingbottom was right in his assessment that there was no malice in the tackle.
But that leaves Tanner with a three-game ban meaning he will miss Middlesbrough, Lincoln and Watford before the World Cup break. Tomas Kalas is almost certainly ruled out for the weekend and Kal Naismith is also highly unlikely to be back in time so that poses another problem.
Timm Klose's return to the bench yesterday is a positive while Pearson admitted he has no idea if Rob Atkinson will declare himself fit to play after falling victim to the flu bug. Ideally, you'd expect Klose to come back into the frame and move Zak Vyner back out to the right.
However, it may not be as simple as that judging by Pearson's post-match comments. While he bemoaned the lack of reliable defenders in his side, he of Klose: "He's been out of form too. So we don't have defenders who are reliable at the moment. That's the problem."
When asked if Atkinson will be fit, he said: "No idea with Rob. A lot of it with Rob is if he wants to push through it so he's ill but, I don't know."
Depending on the characters of his side, Pearson's comments in the aftermath of the game regarding his defenders are either going to earn a positive reaction and give them the kick up the backside he feels they need or have the opposite effect which could allow the fear of making an error creep into their game.
It's a difficult situation and one that shows little sign of changing anytime soon.
The Nahki Wells substitution
It was impossible to ignore the reaction from the supporters when the board went up in the 79th minute to see Wells' number replaced by Chris Martin in the attack. Must admit, it was a surprise to see the striker come off the field as he looked the most likely out of any of City's forwards to hit the target.
It was a frustrating evening for Wells having worked himself into some good positions in the area but the ball just didn't fall kindly for him. He was always an inch or so away from getting on the end of a cross or beaten by a split second to the ball by the keeper or defender.
But he worked his socks off, epitomised by two moments in the first half when he sprinted back into his own half to dispossess his opponent. That was the reason why Pearson decided to change the dynamics of his forward line in the final 10 minutes.
When asked about his thinking behind it, it drew a slightly prickly response in which Pearson said: “That we needed a different approach and he’d run his legs into the ground. I thought Nahki had another really good game but was running out of steam.”
It's been a frustrating season so far for Martin, especially coming in off the back of last campaign where he was a permanent fixture in the side scoring 12 and assisting eight. This time around he's been limited to just three league starts with his last one coming in the third game of the season away at Wigan.
Just ask Wells. It's incredibly difficult for a striker to find any sort of form or momentum playing bit-part roles in matches, particularly as a player whose attributes are the polar opposition of Semenyo, Conway and Wells. His introductions have seen City go more direct in their approach but for one reason or another, it just hasn't happened for Martin this season.
At the age of 33, he's in the twilight of his career and he's struggling to have the impact required when City are chasing a goal. The same happened to Wells last season when he ended the campaign with three so it's difficult not to feel sympathetic towards his cause.
It's also worth noting that the game was so disrupted in those final 10 minutes by Sheffield United players hitting the deck and wasting precious minutes that it became very difficult to build any momentum with sustained attacks. It was an obvious ploy by the Blades and in fairness to them, it proved effective.
In a recent press conference, Pearson admitted Sam Bell will have to remain patient for his opportunity but it may not be long before we start to see him on a more regular basis in the matchday squad.
The form table
I'm reluctant to be negative judging by that display and there's absolutely no doubt about it, if City consistently perform to that level then they will win more games than they lose. But it does feel like a relatively big if at the moment.
They will feel they should have won on Saturday and certainly should have had at least a point last night but they didn't and the reality is they are dropping away from their ambitions to be challenging in and amongst the top six by the time the World Cup break comes around in just two league games' time.
A look at the Championship form guide over the last 10 matches does not make for pretty reading. City are bottom of that with just eight points taken from a possible 30. West Brom have the same point tally but are ahead on the virtue of scoring one more goal.
It's resulted in two victories against the Baggies and Preston, two draws against Coventry and Swansea and six defeats. City have scored eight goals in that period and that represents a worrying problem.
City have been so reliant on that attack over the last year that they've been able to bail out the flaws in the defence but now the goals have dried up, the defence isn't solid enough to repay the favour when needed.
Only three sides in that 10-game period have conceded more than the 14 that have breached City's goal in Hull, Wigan and Blackpool. Although in fairness, City are among six other sides to have shipped in the same number.
The fixtures don't get much kinder. Middlesbrough have a new manager bounce in Michael Carrick and will head into the game on Saturday buoyed by a 3-1 away victory at Hull while Watford possesses Premier League quality if they turn up on the day.
Unlike the previous international break, where City headed into it playing some scintillating attacking football, this one may not come soon enough to give the manager an opportunity to regroup and work on the deficiencies in his side.
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