Maurizio Sarri was in a movie Chelsea watchers have seen before - and the final act does not usually end well for the man sitting in the manager's office at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri had that familiar haunted look, one worn by sacked predecessors such as Luiz Felipe Scolari and Andre Villas-Boas, as he sifted through the carnage of a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City - Chelsea's heaviest defeat since the 7-0 loss at Nottingham Forest in April 1991.
He admitted that "my job is always at risk" while insisting he did not know whether he was in immediate danger.