Tunnel vision allowed Bryan Mbeumo seconds of focus, ignoring everyone in red around him, while those in blue provided a guard of honour. In a team game, it was an act of selfishness but sometimes they are the most satisfying, and Manchester United celebrated the single-mindedness when the ball rippled the inside of the netting.
This is a new front four for United after Marcus Rashford spent last season at Barcelona but there should be greater familiarity between those who have already spent a year together. Bruno Fernandes is the instigator as a No 10 while Matheus Cunha, Mbeumo and Rashford try to create their own theories of chaos against defence through a complex potion of individual skill, tactical freedom and instinctive collaboration but the formula is yet to be perfected.
In order for it to function, everyone needs to understand his role and that of others. When football is played at the speed of the Premier League, second thoughts and delays can ruin a move before it starts. Intuition is a key part of any attacker’s armoury but, ironically, it needs to be learned by having time together on the pitch – it is not immediate, regardless of price tags.
Fluidity can be an aggressive weapon, bamboozling opponents as they are made to think about who they should track and may be caught by surprise by a runner if their attention lapses. This is part of the theory Michael Carrick has formed by using Cunha as a false 9, permitting the Brazilian to wander where he thinks he can cause most damage. At Wolves, Cunha preferred being deeper, specialising in curling shots into the corner from 20 yards after a brief dribble. This would be his ideal at United but Fernandes is in the areas Cunha previously called his own and is having to change his style but this leaves United without someone threatening the final line.
Mbeumo likes to wander in off the right, not as comfortable attempting to beat the full-back on the outside, get to the byline and seek a teammate. Rashford is more capable of taking the ball either way against a right-back. He left the makeshift defender Merlin Röhl in a perilous position, as the England forward drifted past him from a standing start with his dynamism but this was an irregular feature.
Despite United having more possession and often pushing Everton back, Jordan Pickford was untroubled for long periods. Even a confident Fernandes was unable to provide the spark or find teammates in better positions as they were not always where he wanted him or did not read the movement desired from their captain. Passes not reaching their intended destination were too frequent an issue, whether they went into space or even out of play. It was not a masterclass in precision.
There were moments when everything aligned, with Rashford clipping a cross to the back post for Mbeumo to knock down to Fernandes. The subsequent eighth-minute volley crashed against the bar and gave hope that the relationships in the final third were starting to grow but it was one of far too few occasions as the frontline lacked intensity.
Considering Mbeumo scored in the 47th minute, it did not provide the injection of belief one could anticipate. They continued to be an attacking foursome built on moments rather than repeated pressure and domination as Everton had little to worry about until Benjamin Sesko came on to provide the focal point absent when Cunha led the line. The Slovene’s goal came from a classic smart Fernandes pass to an overlapping teammate who perfectly found the 6ft 5in striker to head home. It was an example of perfection in simplicity, a moment from a past era but still effective in this.
It was a move built on everyone having his role and performing it perfectly, while knowing where everyone would be at the desired split second. Fernandes could sense Luke Shaw would maraude into the open space provided on the wing, while the left-back did not need to think where Sesko would be waiting.
The positive from the second half was it showed variety to United’s squad. They can change things up mid-match to see if the opposition are capable of adapting. When minds have been tired by one style of play, going from pace and movement to physicality is not always ideal. The starters brought complexity, while Patrick Dorgu and Sesko brought a more direct approach.
Fernandes, Mbeumo, Rashford and Cunha are elite players and have the CVs to prove it but individual quality is not always a guarantee of creating a cohesive unit. Time together on the pitch will help the foursome find out about one another and playing twice a week will be beneficial to them finding rhythm. If the levels of football coherence do not improve, then Carrick would be justified to revert to the more straightforward and less fashionable plan B.
