Kobbie Mainoo’s Everton debut gave Man Utd more than Garnacho’s goal ever did

Goodison Park, late 2023: Alejandro Garnacho’s bicycle kick flashes across screens worldwide, a strike later crowned Manchester United’s goal-of-the-season contender. Yet beneath the glare of that acrobatic finish, a quieter story unfolded—one that, in hindsight, may prove far more valuable to United’s future. Kobbie Mainoo, handed his first Premier League start at the age of 18, patrolled midfield with the poise of a veteran, anchoring the visitors en route to a 3-0 victory that afternoon.

While Garnacho’s highlight-reel moment dominated post-match chatter, player-ratings compilers at 90Min awarded Mainoo the higher mark for an “industrious” and “superb” display. The teenager’s positioning, ball retention and composure under Everton’s high press provided the platform from which United’s flair players could flourish. The clean sheet was no coincidence: Mainoo’s screening of the back four limited the Toffees to speculative efforts.

That afternoon proved a launchpad. In the four subsequent meetings with Everton, Mainoo has been in United’s starting XI three times—and United have won all three, scoring nine goals without reply. His only defeat against the Merseysiders came earlier this season, a 1-0 loss in which he appeared only as a second-half substitute under manager Amorim. As United prepare to visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time next week, Mainoo’s personal dominance of Everton offers both a statistical comfort blanket and a reminder of how quickly perceptions can shift.

Garnacho’s wonder goal is still replayed, but the Argentinian’s abrupt departure to Chelsea—described in the source text as a move that “burned bridges at Old Trafford”—has dulled his legacy among supporters. Mainoo, by contrast, knuckled down, earned the trust of interim coach Michael Carrick, and is now firmly embedded in the first-team squad. Where one moment provided fleeting brilliance, the other supplied a foundation on which United continue to build.

History may yet judge the Goodison Park clash of 2023 not solely by Garnacho’s acrobatics, but by the composed teenager who quietly seized his chance in midfield, setting the tone for a career that is gathering momentum with every fixture.