Mbeumo's goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium was gorgeous. It was also not nearly enough.

Manchester United's new front four of Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Marcus Rashford had their moments against Everton, but moments are what you get from a group still learning each other's rhythms. Michael Carrick needs considerably more than that from players carrying the price tags they do.

The theory is sound. The execution is not.

Carrick's idea is interesting on paper. Cunha operates as a false nine, licensed to drift deep and create from withdrawn positions. Fernandes pulls the strings as a ten. Mbeumo and Rashford provide width and directness. The problem is that each player is essentially fighting for the same real estate.

Cunha's natural game, built around collecting possession in deeper areas and producing curling efforts from 20 yards, is now being squeezed out by Fernandes occupying those precise zones. Cunha is having to change how he plays, and the consequence is that United have no one genuinely threatening the defensive line from the centre. Meanwhile, Mbeumo is at his best drifting infield from the right rather than driving down the outside and crossing. Rashford is the one who can beat a man either way, and when he left Merlin Röhl in trouble with a burst of pace from a standing start, you saw the potential. It just did not happen often enough.

For long stretches, Jordan Pickford was unbothered. That is a damning fact when United had more possession and routinely pushed Everton back. Fernandes, for all his confidence, could not unlock things consistently. Passes missed their targets. Runners were not where they were expected. The connectivity simply was not there.

There was one moment when it all clicked: Rashford clipping a ball to the back post, Mbeumo knocking it down, and Fernandes lashing a volley against the bar in the eighth minute. That is exactly the kind of move this front four could produce regularly. The problem is it appeared once.

The plan B argument is already legitimate

When Benjamin Sesko came off the bench, the game shifted. Fernandes played a smart pass to an overlapping Luke Shaw, who delivered perfectly for the Slovene to head home. Simple, direct, effective. It was everything the first-choice frontline had not been. The contrast told you something important about where United currently are.

You can pair that with the [Premier League preview](/uprise/football/premier-league-10-things-to-look-out-for-this-weekend) take that United would need time to gel, and here is the early evidence of exactly that. Rashford returning after a season at Barcelona means the four have not had as long together as you might assume, and intuition between attackers is earned through shared game time, not reputation.

The [summer window](/uprise/football/mens-transfer-window-summer-2026-all-deals-from-europes-top) delivered elite individual talent to Old Trafford. Elite individuals do not automatically produce a coherent unit, and United are living that reality right now.

Carrick should keep patience with the first-choice four. Playing twice a week will accelerate the process, and the ceiling genuinely is high. But if the attacking cohesion does not sharpen over the coming weeks, reverting to the more direct approach that Sesko and Dorgu offer is not a step backwards. It is a rational decision. Form matters more than aesthetics.

Flashes of brilliance are a start. They are not a plan.