Liverpool, England — Manchester Uniteddecisive goal against everton Started with a raking pass from Matheus Cunha. landed at the feet of Brian Mbeumowho ran away Michael Keane Before placing a square ball on the face of the goal.
There, benjamin sesco ran ahead of james tarkovsky To side-foot her last past Jordan Pickford. In sporting terms, it was a goal. For United officials, this was born out of their transfer strategy last summer.
This was enough to secure a narrow 1-0 win on Monday Taking Michael Carrick’s team to fourth place Premier League table, forward chelsea And liverpool in the race to play in uefa champions league.
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In the short term, this season has turned into an 11-game shootout to return to Europe’s top table after two years away. This won’t work in the long term for a club of this size. But the fact that United can point to a successful summer, including the additions of Cunha, Mbeumo and Cesco, suggests that the recruitment issues that have caused so many problems may – finally – be rectified.
“Obviously, the boys that have come in recently are all playing a big role for us, which is ideal,” Carrick said. “A major part of it is character and personality, and that’s a major trait, especially when playing here.
“It takes a lot of different things to win games. Sometimes it will be a little easier and it will click and the goals will flow.
“At other times, like tonight, it’s credit to Everton, it was a bit of a tight game in some ways.
“It wasn’t flowing as well for us, but I think the feeling, trust and confidence the boys are gaining amongst themselves and amongst all of us is important.”
United’s main task this summer is to find a new manager. But whoever gets the job – whether it’s Carrick permanently or someone else – the role will be made a lot easier if the right players come along.
Whatever happens between now and May, it will still be a season that falls short of United’s usual standards. These were established a long time ago by the trophy-laden tenures of Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson.
But when the dust settles on the campaign, some of the positives will be the contributions of the summer signings: Cunha, Mbeumo, Cesco and the goalkeeper. sene lamens.
Young Belgian, signed from royal antwerp Also played against Everton, for less than £20million. he dealt with chaos james garner‘s corners – particularly during the frantic final 15 minutes – and made a stunning save from Keane late on. There was another smart low stop from tyreek george To secure the precious three points in the third minute of stoppage time.
“The goalkeeper was brilliant for them tonight,” David Moyes said afterwards.
United’s recent transfer history is full of costly mistakes alexis sanchez, jadon sancho And Antony. It’s certainly been a long time since they’ve received four signings in a single summer. That money is starting to be well spent which bodes well for the future, especially as a big decision comes about who should be replaced. casemiro.
The Brazilian was key to the revival under Carrick, leaving at the end of the season. It will again be up to CEO Omar Berrada, director of football Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Wivell to pick well and find a central midfielder capable of filling his place.
“I think it’s hard for me to talk about the past when I haven’t been here,” Carrick said. “I said this when I first came in, sometimes, you know, we’re just expecting players to perform, you know, and sometimes there’s a lot that goes into it.
“It is important to feel the environment, to be comfortable in your surroundings to be able to perform and sometimes it takes a little time to get used to it.”
Carrick, meanwhile, is looking very comfortable. With five wins and one draw from six matches, the 44-year-old has put himself in the conversation to become the next permanent boss. United are the only Premier League team to lose in 2026 and no other team has collected more than their 18 points since the start of the year.
But if he wants to know how tough it can be at United, he only needs to look at the sidelines at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Moyes has proved he is a skilled manager with successful spells with Everton west ham unitedBut the Scot only lasted 10 months at the Old Trafford pressure cooker before being sacked. Moyes had his own recruitment problems while at United.
Having seen Cesco, Cunha, Mbuemo and Lammens prove the difference against Everton, he is well placed to remind Berrada, Wilcox and Wivel that, whoever is in the hot seat, the job is far more manageable when the right players are in the building.
