This just was not Leeds, not under Marcelo Bielsa anyway.
"Evidently our game didn't look like the one we usually play," said the Whites boss after the 1-0 defeat at Southampton.
It was arguably the worst performance under the Argentine in his more than three seasons in charge. There have been worse results but even when the scoreline has stacked heavily against United they have rarely been second best in every area like they were at St Mary's.
It is an oddity and the immense body of work done by Bielsa and his squad should not be overly tarnished by it.
But that is not an excuse to brush away what happened lightly. United played a long way from Southampton's goal and wingers Dan James and Jack Harrison spent far too much time backtracking towards their own. Nothing stuck up top and the midfield was conceded.
In mitigation, six big players were unavailable - two absentees more than even Bielsa would expect on matchday. He admitted that this had a consequence but in no way made it the reason for the abject display.
He expected more from the side he went with and so did captain Liam Cooper, who has vowed a response when Wolves visit next Saturday: "If there's any team in the league who's going to analyse it and put it right, it's us."
After the last really horrible defeat, at Brighton in May, they did just that with an excellent victory over Spurs.