With his baggy shorts and his black boots, Amad looked like he had returned to Manchester United this pre-season from the 1950s rather than a few weeks away after the World Cup.

The 24-year-old reported to Carrington at the start of the week and was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI against Atletico Madrid on the back of limited training. Joshua Zirkzee made way as Bryan Mbeumo went through the middle.

It was an indication of how keen Amad was to keep the momentum that he had built over the summer going, and perhaps how keen Michael Carrick was to get him involved at the earliest possible opportunity.

He certainly looked bright in his 45 minutes on the pitch. He was confident from the first whistle, although one pirouette pass to Leny Yoro almost sold the makeshift right-back short. They dovetailed better as the half went on and combined well to break in down that flank just before the break.

United were behind early on in Stockholm to Arnau Ortiz’s cross, which beat Yoro and Harry Maguire and left Tom Heaton stranded, but Amad came closest to an equaliser. It was Mbeumo who won a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Amad was the only player taking it.

The ball had ended up on the left of the pitch after the striker had been fouled, and Amad wandered off to get his hands on it. He wasn’t going to let go. A lengthy debate with the excellent Mason Mount and Mbeumo followed, but Amad drilled a low effort which took a slight deflection. Jan Oblak saved with his feet and grabbed the ball on his goalline.

Amad enjoyed a productive summer with the Ivory Coast, scoring against France in a World Cup warm-up and then netting two excellent goals before his country were knocked out by Norway in the last-32. He looks sharp and pressed brilliantly to win possession high up, allowing Shea Lacey to cross for Mbeumo, who glanced a header wide.

It feels like a big season for Amad, who was disappointing last term and is set to face renewed competition for his place. In Amad, Lacey and Mbeumo, Carrick was starting three left-footed forwards who would probably all like to play on the right.

Every goal Mbeumo has scored under Carrick has come as a striker and with Benjamin Sesko still out, he could get minutes there. Lacey has started twice as a No.10 in pre-season, but will hand that shirt over to Bruno Fernandes soon enough.

All three could be in competition next season, which is why they all need to shine. Amad made his scheduled exit at the break and then watched Lacey continue to impress.

His quick feet and balance had been on show and he looked at home in elite company. A change of direction in the box earned a 53rd-minute penalty, which Mbeumo converted.

Lacey is now a regular in first-team training, and his brief exposure to the senior set-up in January under Darren Fletcher marked him out as a player to keep an eye on. He struggled for minutes under Carrick but has been to the fore this summer and the decision to start him as the attacking midfielder has been a show of faith.

The 19-year-old isn’t available for loan this summer and with a crowded schedule in the first half of the season at least, he will get opportunities to continue his development. This was a step up from thrashing Rosenborg in Trondheim and he took to it like a duck to water.

Carrick will be glad of the competition in a season that will test him in ways last term didn’t. He had days on end to prepare for games and was able to field a consistent starting line-up. That won’t be doable now United are back in the Champions League.

So Amad and Lacey will get games and if Mbeumo ends up playing as a striker more often, they could all feature regularly. Mbeumo was the matchwinner here, bundling in Jack Fletcher’s low cross to turn the game on its head.

There was even time for JJ Gabriel to make his first senior appearance, with the 15-year-old coming on for Mbeumo for the final 10 minutes and producing a couple of moments that marked out his dazzling talent.

With four races remaining before the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase begins, the battle around the cutline is one of the biggest storylines of the season. Denny Hamlin continues to lead the standings with 886 points and is closing in on the No. 1 seed, holding an 84-point advantage over Tyler Reddick. Behind them, however, the fight for the final Chase positions remains wide open.

Following the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Joey Logano climbed to 13th after another strong result, while Austin Cindric holds the final Chase spot in 16th with 518 points. Shane van Gisbergen sits 15th, 57 points above the cutline, and Ryan Preece occupies 17th with 480 points. Erik Jones remains in 18th with 474 points, just 44 behind the cutline.

With Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and the finale at Daytona still to come, every race now carries major Chase implications. Several drivers are close enough that one strong finish, combined with a difficult afternoon for those around them, could quickly reshape the standings. Here are three NASCAR Cup Series drivers who still have a realistic chance of climbing above the cutline.

3 NASCAR Cup Series drivers who could still fight their way into the Chase

#3 Michael McDowell – No. 71 Spire Motorsports

Michael McDowell enters the final four-race stretch 20th in the standings with 442 points, leaving him 76 points behind Austin Cindric. While that is a sizeable gap, Indianapolis showed far more promise than his 18th-place finish suggests.

McDowell qualified sixth and spent much of the afternoon running near the front. He collected stage finishes of third and eighth, ranked among the race’s best on restarts and consistently looked capable of delivering a top-10 finish before late strategy dropped him back. Iowa has not been one of his stronger tracks, with an average finish of 25, but Spire Motorsports has made significant gains in 2026.

With Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez already comfortably positioned for the Chase, the No. 71 team can focus entirely on helping McDowell maximize points. The veteran last reached the NASCAR Cup Series postseason in 2023 and has the experience to capitalize in the final month.

#2 Brad Keselowski – No. 6 RFK Racing

Brad Keselowski narrowly missed the playoffs last season and now faces another uphill battle. The 2012 Cup Series champion sits 19th with 468 points, 50 behind the Chase cutline, after a season that has produced only two top-five finishes.

However, the No. 6 RFK Racing team finally appears to be building momentum at exactly the right time. Keselowski followed a seventh-place finish at North Wilkesboro with sixth at Indianapolis, giving him consecutive top-10 finishes after an 11-race drought.

More importantly, the remaining schedule suits him well. Iowa has been one of his better tracks, where he finished 10th in the inaugural Cup race before leading 68 laps and finishing third last season. He is also a three-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winner there. If Keselowski can continue stringing together top-10 finishes, the 50-point deficit could shrink much faster than it currently appears.

#1 Ryan Preece – No. 60 RFK Racing

Among the drivers below the cutline, Ryan Preece has the clearest path into the NASCAR Cup Series Chase. He sits 17th with 480 points, only 38 behind Austin Cindric, and remains within striking distance with four races still to run.

Preece delivered one of the strongest recovery drives at Indianapolis, gaining valuable ground in the Chase battle. The upcoming schedule also works in his favor. Iowa Speedway produced one of Preece’s best runs last season, when he finished fifth, and he is already an O’Reilly Series winner at the short track. The margin remains narrow enough that one excellent race could completely change the Chase picture before the field heads to Richmond and New Hampshire.