There was little fanfare but a few lessons perhaps learnt as the most expensive player in the history of English football - Angel di Maria - lasted 70 minutes on his Premier League debut for Manchester United in their goalless draw at Burnley on Saturday.
Although Di Maria, a British record 59.7 million pounds ($99 million) signing, showed a few flashes of his undoubted talent on Saturday, United again looked disjointed and lacking in confidence against a determined Burnley, who earned their first point since returning to the Premier League.
For the Argentine midfielder, who was a Champions League winner with Real last season, his Premier League debut was a reality check.
Naturally he was heralded by United’s travelling support among the wooden seats in the Cricket Field stand at Turf Moor, but his first misplaced pass was greeted with jeers from the Burnley fans and later mistakes led to mocking chants from them of “What a waste of money”.
The spotlight will shine the brightest when Di Maria faces the title-chasing teams from the top end of the table but the Argentine will have learnt on Saturday that even the most modest clubs in the English top flight will not roll over - as he discovered when he left the field after what his manager called a “kick to the calf”.
In this transfer window, so far, United have spent 132 million pounds on new players - Burnley have invested four million.
But on Saturday, Burnley showed that, sometimes at least, for 90 minutes, the working class can match the super rich. Burnley midfielder Scott Arfield, who plays a similar role to Di Maria, was signed for nothing by Clarets manager Sean Dyche after Huddersfield Town released him just over a year ago.
The difference in resources between the two clubs will show in the end - as will Di Maria’s quality. Arfield will wake up with his adrenalin still pumping while Di Maria will have a sore calf as a reminder of his first trip to East Lancashire.