Alex Ferguson may have a great face for poker but behind the impenetrable stare, mastered over his 16 years with Manchester United, there must lurk a worried man.
After they struggled to overcome Fulham at the weekend, another night of dithering in defence saw United fortunate to escape with anything after an extraordinary match that featured an own goal from David Beckham before the England captain made amends, controversially, with a late equaliser.
United had led through Ryan Giggs but a second-half capitulation, featuring some bizarre defending, had been punished by two Blackburn goals before Beckham scored with a cute free-kick as the home side lined up their wall.
The odd defensive lapse has long been a United trait, but their recent tendency for conceding early goals has clearly stretched the manager's patience to breaking point.
"Sluggish" and "casual" were his words after Sunday's shortcomings against Fulham and this was time for a wake-up call, with Jaap Stam and Gary Neville, recently as flimsy as a tent-flap in a gale, both conspicuous absentees.
If Ferguson was hoping his reshuffled defence, patched up around Ronnie Johnsen and Wes Brown, would acclimatise quickly, there was little evidence of it in the opening exchanges.
Keith Gillespie, confronted by his old club, stung Fabien Barthez's hands with a rasping shot inside the first minute and from the resulting corner Matt Jansen headed against the crossbar.
Another corner should have yielded a goal for Corrado Grabbi, Blackburn's misfiring £7m recruit from Serie B's Ternana, but the Italian missed horribly.
Within a minute United had broken upfield, a typically incisive counter-attack instigated by Giggs and the marauding Roy Keane. Juan Sebastian Veron, so neat and accomplished, slipped the ball behind the defence and, with a swish of Giggs's left boot, the champions were in front.
There were times when the visiting players eluded their opponents as though they were drifting in and out of traffic cones on a training exercise. Before half-time Paul Scholes struck a post from 30 yards and David Beckham saw another of his free-kick specials tipped away by Brad Friedel.
Another goal looked inevitable but when it came, three minutes after the interval, it went to Blackburn, and via the most unlikely of sources.
Mickael Silvestre was guilty of a late challenge on Gillespie and when young Irish midfielder Alan Mahon, swung a sweet left-footed free-kick into United's penalty area the ball flicked off Beckham's head and nestled in the back of Barthez's net.
Suddenly Blackburn were on top. Another Mahon free-kick saw Henning Berg hit the crossbar before Grabbi, yet again, spurned a clear chance.
Then, with 20 minutes to go, Gillespie took a difficult pass with his back to goal and ghosted beyond Silvestre before arrowing a left-foot shot into the roof of the United net.
United, of course, never give up, even when they are playing badly. Craig Short was sent off for his second booking and from the free-kick, 30 yards out, Beckham had the last word.
With the Champions League draw taking place today, Ferguson will have to remedy his problems in defence. And the sooner the better.
BLACKBURN ROVERS (4-4-2): Friedel; Curtis, Berg, Short, Bjornebye; Gillespie (Hignett, 89min), Flitcroft, Mahon, Duff; Jansen (Taylor, 79), Grabbi (Blake, 74).
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-1-1): Barthez; Irwin (G Neville, 67), Johnsen, Brown, Silvestre; Beckham, Keane, Scholes (Yorke, 74), Giggs; Scholes; Van Nistelrooy (Cole, 74).
Referee: A Wiley
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