Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 two days after Christmas - their first meeting since 1999. Fast forward 30 days, and United are making their first trip to the City Ground in almost 24 years in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Between those matches, United played seven times. Including the two meetings with Forest, that equates to nine games in only 30 games - essentially one match every 3.3 days.
United are now in the midst of a mere three-day break before facing Reading in the FA Cup fourth round, kicking off a run of nine matches in 29 days. By the time their home Premier League meeting with Brentford has concluded in late February, they will have played 18 times across 59 days.
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Naturally, playing matches every three or four days on such a consistent basis is bound to lead to tiredness. United had wilted in their two matches prior to facing Forest, with a cumulative three points dropped late on against Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
As a result, there was somewhat of a dilemma for Erik ten Hag heading into the first leg of his side's Carabao Cup semi-final. Was it best to protect his players or attack the game?
In cup competitions, Ten Hag has only seen the latter as being viable. And it was no different here - logically. He named a strong side, signifying his intent to hopefully finish the job off in the first leg with a possible view towards rotating his team for the second leg next week.
United emerged with purpose that suggested they were keen to get the job done before the return fixture at Old Trafford, and Marcus Rashford particularly embodied this.
Rashford has frequently had the tag of 'unplayable' attached to him in recent times, and his goal to give United the lead - his 10th in 10 matches - after only five minutes proved just why. He carried the ball from inside his own half, showing the directness that is so difficult to defend against as he beat two defenders on the edge of the box before finishing.
The eventual finish was left-footed to Wayne Hennessey's near post, emphasising improvements in finishing versatility as his game continues to expand.
United did a good job to quell a raucous atmosphere at the City Ground so early in proceedings.
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However, it wasn't all plain sailing for United at all times as their level dwindled somewhat after their fast start.
They found themselves caught out by Forest breakaways on a few occasions, with one three-on-two resulting in Sam Surridge beating David de Gea after Victor Lindelof - understandably featuring ahead of Raphael Varane given the Frenchman's susceptibility to injury when fatigued - failed to get tight enough to his man.
Fortunately for United, Surridge mistimed his run and was deemed offside by VAR. But it was an instance of United being slack, which became a theme of the first half in parts.
Forest managed to gain a foothold for periods, offering that threat on the counter attack with United disorganised at times. Ten Hag was visibly raging on a few occasions when television cameras cut to him, none more so than when Bruno Fernandes skewed a shot from range.
Only moments after Fernandes' careless attempt, though, United managed to double their advantage with half-time beckoning. Wout Weghorst showed his liveliness around the penalty area by reacting briskly to an attempt from Antony being parried by Hennessey, with an opportune yet excellently executed finish on the rebound.
It was reward for some good build-up from United, with Casemiro driving forward to supply Antony. United's combination play often stood out: intricate passing and attentive movement between Antony, Weghorst and Fernandes earlier resulted in a one-on-one for the Brazilian, albeit Hennessey was on hand to make an important save.
Weghorst stood out for United again in terms of his link-up value, acting as a focal point that enabled others' involvement to be enhanced.
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United scored at two crucial points in the first half, getting off to a strong start and ending on a note that diminished the rhythm being built by Forest. The home side lost most of their momentum, and United consequently became the controlling force.
The threat of Ten Hag's side was more evident in the second half, with Christian Eriksen striking the crossbar just over 10 minutes after the break. They weren't necessarily outstanding at any point, but they didn't have to be to overcome an ultimately tame opposition.
Crucially, Fernandes scored United's third goal with one minute of regulation time remaining, connecting cleanly with a half-volley after an intuitive dinked lay-off from substitute Anthony Elanga.
It felt significant that United built the margin up to three goals - considerably more unassailable than a two-goal advantage heading into the second leg next week. And, as a result, there is a sense that the chants of, "Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, we're going to Wembley," have truth to them.
Such a comfortable first leg alleviates a headache for Ten Hag amid the present fixture congestion, too.
It is highly unlikely that Forest will be able to turn around such a deficit at Old Trafford, so the United manager will likely be able to rotate his side somewhat to afford some players rest. So secure they were at the City Ground, Ten Hag even managed to give players such as Rashford - withdrawn before the hour mark - a break on Wednesday night.
Steve Cooper may also opt to rest players next week given his side face Leeds United in an important match in the vast relegation battle the weekend subsequent, and Ten Hag will certainly be hoping it becomes nigh-on a non-contest.
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United may also be able to rest some players against Reading in the FA Cup this coming weekend given they are Championship opposition, albeit Ten Hag is laudably resistant to taking approaches that display any sort of complacency.
In any case, across two more favourable matches before facing Crystal Palace once again in the Premier League, Ten Hag should be able to give his regulars reduced game-time to mitigate the fatigue that has seemingly started to creep in.
Eriksen for one has played a huge amount of matches and often has to be substituted shortly beyond the 60-minute mark.
United still need to improve on the depth front, but it isn't as though rotation drastically weakens them. Lindelof had some early issues, but both him and Tyrell Malacia - in for the unwell Luke Shaw - slotted into the defence relatively seamlessly for two players that have been imperative for large parts of this season so far.
Facundo Pellistri made only his second appearance for the club after replacing Antony midway through the second half and, aside from a pass which went astray and set Forest away on the attack, he was assured and exuded a sense of fearlessness in his first match against Premier League opposition.
Pellistri's intelligence was shown with a goal-creating off-ball run against Charlton Athletic in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, and his run in behind ultimately led to the ball coming loose for Elanga to create Fernandes' late goal against Forest. There are plenty of intricacies to the Uruguayan's game that are to be admired.
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United exerted enough against Forest to ensure they have at least one foot in Wembley Stadium for a date with either Newcastle United or Southampton next month.
And, in addition to that, their exertions mean that tiredness that has started to accumulate amid a wrath of matches can be mitigated with some rotation of key players across the next week.
In some ways, the fatigue-inducing fixture congestion is United's own doing: they have excelled in cup competitions this term, thus more matches have to be shoehorned into an already condensed calendar.
The win on their return to the Forest ground feels a significant stride for United in many contexts, helping them to bounce back from two winless matches. Ten Hag's approach was spot on, and he is 90 minutes away from guiding United to their first final under his reign at the first attempt.
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