Manchester United endured an embarrassing FA Cup loss at the hands of Championship side Middlesbrough.
Friday night's loss on penalties at Old Trafford saw an early exit for the 12-times winners.
Usually cup games are a chance for clubs like United to experiment with a few youngsters but Ralf Rangnick resisted that urge and chose a strong XI - only for the decision to backfire.
A clutch of young players who are out on loan away from the club may have been looking on from afar wondering what might have been.
Here, Mirror Sport looks at how those players on temporary deals away from Old Trafford got on at the weekend.
Can James Garner become a fixture in the United first team? Let us know in the comments
James Garner
Garner was one of a number of players who caught the eye in Nottingham Forest's superb FA Cup fourth round win over holders Leicester on Sunday.
The midfielder, in his second loan stint with Forest, ran the show and put in a commanding display.
He chipped in with an assist for one of the Reds' four goals and caused the Foxes plenty of problems all afternoon.
His performance was that impressive, it even had former Arsenal defender Martin Keown purring about a potential recall by United.
Keown, on commentary duties for the BBC, praised Garner for his class from dead-ball situations.
"Again, set-piece, the ball in from Garner is an absolute beauty, look at the whip on that," said Keown.
"You can’t underestimate the quality that Garner is putting into this box. He’s on loan from Manchester United – they need to be thinking about getting him back there quickly!"
Keown added: "I like the way he’s developing, growing as a player.
"It's his second year here on loan, you can see the development. He’s certainly playing with a lot more confidence right now."
The stats backed up Keown's assessment too, with Garner winning 100 per cent of his tackles and recording a pass accuracy of 83 per cent.
Teden Mengi
Defender Mengi was in action on Friday night, making his sixth league appearance for Birmingham in a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United.
Mengi played the full 90 minutes and was given a stern test by the Blades' Iliman Ndiaye.
A first half incident involving the pair saw Mengi appear to clip the heels of the Frenchman in the box, but no penalty was given much to Mengi's relief.
Despite the result, Mengi looks to be gelling well with the Blues' backline.
Ethan Laird
Laird switched from one Championship side to another in January, ending his loan spell at Swansea early and being despatched to high-flying Bournemouth.
He is yet to debut however, and Sunday saw him play no part in Bournemouth's shock FA Cup loss against Boreham Wood.
It was revealed that Laird, who was paraded to Cherries' fans pre-match, is still nursing a hamstring injury.
Bournemouth boss Scott Parker recently said: "He’s had a little bit of a setback. Hopefully not too long.
"Look, it’s not been ideal. He's come in and obviously had a bit of an issue with his hamstring.
"Hopefully we're not too far off, but we're just treading carefully around that a little bit."
Di'Shon Bernard
Bernard came off injured just before the hour mark in Hull City's 1-0 loss at home to Preston.
The defender has been a regular fixture in the Tigers' side so there will be plenty of concern.
However, it is hoped he will back and available for City's trip to Derby midweek.
New Hull boss Shota Arveladze said: "He took some hard kicks on his legs, so I gave him the chance to rest but hopefully he’s fine (for Tuesday)."
Ethan Galbraith
Northern Irish midfielder Galbraith sat out Doncaster's superb, coupon-busting win away at Sunderland.
The youngster has a calf issue that could also see him miss Tuesday's game with Ipswich.
Doncaster boss Gary McSheffrey said: “Ethan has still got that niggling calf problem.
"When I spoke on Thursday, it was fine. But he reported it to the physio after training.
“He’s spoken to his physios at Manchester United and he feels about a week off will do him the world of good."
Reece Devine
Devine joined Walsall late last month on an arrangement until the end of the season.
Saturday saw him play 71 minutes as the Cobblers lost 1-0 to Northampton in League Two.
He will be hoping for regular game time after making just a handful of appearances for St Johnstone in the first half of this season.
Nathan Bishop
Bishop has impressed at League Two side Mansfield, helping them climb into the play-off spots.
They had a weekend off as their projected opponents Hartlepool were in FA Cup action. The Stags play Colchester on Tuesday night.
