Yet, in a welcome development for Manchester United, all three were overshadowed by more irregular scorers. "Everyone was talking about the lack of goals from midfield," said Sir Alex Ferguson after the game. The conversations can continue, but the subject can change to the calibre of the finishes after Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia scored. The men in the middle determined the game with Ryan Giggs and the substitute Paul Scholes each creating a goal. As a result, the reliance on Rooney, even if only temporarily, was eased and the memories of Cristiano Ronaldo, perhaps, were tinged with rather less nostalgia.
He averaged 30 goals a season in his last three years in Manchester, even if some were spot kicks and quite a few came when he operated in attack rather than on the flank. Yet, as this season is proving, goalscoring has to be a team effort. There were times when Ronaldo's magnificent megalomania obscured that, when everything was about him and when he struck so frequently it scarcely mattered that others barely contributed.
Now it is an issue. Unflattering comparisons could have been drawn with both Chelsea, where Frank Lampard invariably musters 20 goals a season from the centre of the pitch, and Arsenal, where Cesc Fabregas threatens to do likewise. Even, perhaps, with Liverpool, where Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun offer the potential to reach double figures from the flanks.
If none of United's myriad of midfielders are as prolific, there are indications that a settled unit are beginning to produce a return in front of goal. Earlier in the campaign, Ferguson's policy of permanent rotation produced an entirely different midfield for the matches against Burnley and then Wigan. Each of his preferred quartet today started at Chelsea, and three of them found a finish against Everton.
Fletcher's was first and finest. United had been enterprising, but failed to penetrate until Valencia displayed the awareness to head Patrice Evra's cross towards the Scot. His stunning volley flew into the top corner. "Unbelievable," said Evra. "A quality finish," added Ferguson. "It was a goal you wouldn't expect him to score."
Recognition outside Old Trafford is no longer elusive. Fletcher is arguably the Premier League's most improved player over the last 15 months. Ferguson added: "You see his performance level each year for the last few years has gone up and up. He is extraordinary like that."
Carrick's form this season has been rather more ordinary. There is a sense, however, that such a talented technician should be on the scoresheet more often. His second of the season was placed beyond Tim Howard after Giggs' perceptive pass.
Valencia had arrived at Old Trafford with an unenviable scoring record at Wigan, where he struck seven times in three years. A fourth of the current campaign followed Scholes' pass, requiring a deflection off Leighton Baines but justifying United's pre-match instructions. "We have been saying to him to shoot because he has power in his shooting," Ferguson explained.
Rooney had clipped the crossbar against his former employers during a spell when Everton threatened an equaliser. The offside Marouane Fellaini had a goal chalked off, Tim Cahill was denied by Edwin van der Sar and Yakubu shot narrowly wide. David Moyes' half-time reshuffle, when he introduced the Nigerian and moved to a two-man attack, almost succeeded.
Instead Everton were condemned to defeat for the fifth time in seven matches. Injury-ravaged as they are, they have become unaccustomed to such bleak times. A depleted side prospered last season, helped in no small measure by the efforts of their goalscoring midfielders. They are, as United can testify, useful players to possess.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Darren Fletcher - "A great player," according to Evra. Such a statement would once have invited ridicule. Now, plenty would concur. Besides a glorious goal and an all-action display in midfield, Fletcher finished the game at right-back where he was competent.
MANCHESTER UNITED VERDICT: This was their biggest home win of the season and perhaps their most convincing, but nervy moments have become a feature of matches at Old Trafford. There were plenty in Everton's revival after the interval but the impressive Evra and the returning Nemanja Vidic helped keep a clean sheet. In attack, Owen couldn't quite make the most of the opportunity Berbatov's absence afforded him.
EVERTON VERDICT: Moyes' injury problems never seem to abate. As Ferguson noted in his column in the programme, that accounts for their position in the lower half of the table. Yet Everton displayed spirit, first in their defending and then in their search for a leveller. With Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea coming up, they will need to be similarly determined again.
RUGBY FOR RAFAEL: The oval-ball game probably doesn't have a huge following in Brazil, but it does seem to include the Da Silva twins. Fabio attempted a rugby tackle against Wolves two months ago and now Rafael, in a bid to halt Tim Cahill, emulated his brother.
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