MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Bryan Mbeumo of Manchester United looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on September 20, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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Saturday offered Manchester United, and its under-fire manager Ruben Amorim, some relief. Indeed, the 2-1 win over Chelsea was a balm for the seering criticism that has come the way of the Old Trafford outfit so far this season. The performance was an improvement, but all that really mattered was that United put three points on the board.
The 2025/26 season has been a struggle for Amorim and his players. The Manchester Derby defeat to Manchester City exposed just how far off the top level of English soccer United is at this moment in time with further underwhelming results and performances against Fulham, Burnley and Grimsby Town adding to the sense of malaise.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 09: Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha of Manchester United interact with Ruben Amorim, Manager of Manchester United during the pre-season friendly match between Manchester United and ACF Fiorentina at Old Trafford on August 09, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
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Bryan Mbeumo, however, has been a rare bright spot. The Cameroonian has made an instant impact after joining from Brentford in the summer transfer window and was once again a threat in Saturday’s home win over Chelsea, forcing the action that led to Robert Sanchez’s dismissal just four minutes into the match.
While Manchester United has generally struggled to impact games in the final third, its ploy of getting Mbeumo into space on the right wing before switching the ball to him quickly has been an effective one. This has made the 26-year-old United’s most reliable threat when playing forward into the opposition half.
Mbeumo’s £71m transfer was just one part of a three-pronged plan to revamp Manchester United’s forward line for the 2025/26 season. Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko also arrived at Old Trafford over the summer, giving Amorim a new-look front three to deploy. This cost United over £200m.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Bryan Mbeumo of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on September 20, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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It will take time for the trio to build chemistry together. Cunha’s start to the season has been interrupted by injury while Sesko is still being introduced slowly after arriving late in the summer window. His flicked on header prior to the Sanchez red card on Sunday was his first genuine contribution in a United jersey.
Amorim is still under pressure to prove he’s the right man for the Manchester United job, but Saturday’s victory led to a sense that his team might have started to turn the corner. United played with the sort of intensity and energy that the Portuguese coach has desired from the moment he was appointed 10 months ago.
In both boxes, Manchester United must still do a lot better. This is where it can move the needle in the most profound way, but Mbeumo has made a positive start to life at Old Trafford and has offered a glimpse of a future in which United’s best players deliver on a regular basis.