Michael Carrick couldn’t have dreamt of a better start as Manchester United’s head coach.
The new United boss celebrated a resounding victory over Manchester City in the 198th derby at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu, and it could have been even better.
Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount all had goals ruled out for United, while Harry Maguire and Diallo hit the woodwork.
There were certainly no complaints from Pep Guardiola over the result, even though the City boss was unhappy that Diogo Dalot’s yellow card for an early foul on Jeremy Doku wasn’t upgraded to a red.
Daily Mail Sport looks at how Carrick and his new backroom team lifted United in the space of three days, and found a way to out-manoeuvre Guardiola.
Carrick finds the United way
There was some negativity around United’s decision to appoint Carrick as head coach until the end of the season, not to mention scepticism over how he would navigate his way through the two opening games against City and Arsenal.
You didn’t have to look far for evidence that the 44-year-old had it in his locker to win big games in charge of United, however.
When the club turned to him in November 2021 after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked, and United felt like a club at rock bottom, Carrick stepped up from first-team coach to become caretaker for three games.
It resulted in a 2-0 Champions League win away to Villarreal, a 1-1 draw with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, and a 3-2 win over Arsenal and Mikel Arteta at Old Trafford. Not a bad set of results at short notice, and Carrick is off to a flying start again.
As he left United back then after more than 15 years to make way for interim boss Ralf Rangnick, Carrick couldn’t help a wry smile when asked about his successor’s renowned gegenpressing. ‘Like we’ve never pressed at United!’ he remarked at the time.
United certainly pressed against City on Saturday. They had energy, pace, aggression and hunger. They closed down the space to smother Guardiola’s side, got back to help one another and then defended in numbers.
Senne Lammens hardly had a save to make in comparison to Gianluigi Donnarumma who could have conceded five and still been City’s best player by some distance.
Carrick kept with the more familiar 4-2-3-1 system reintroduced in the last two games by caretaker Darren Fletcher, and brought back Harry Maguire to shore up the defence. Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo – mystifyingly ignored by Ruben Amorim – formed a midfield shield.
Then when the opportunities arose, they attacked with pace and width using the excellent Bryan Mbeumo as the spearhead for the attack.
‘I think the team spirit, the work rate, the energy, everything about that team was fantastic,’ said Wayne Rooney.
‘You hear everyone, especially us as ex-players, talk about the United DNA and that has just shown what it is. Work-rate off the ball, wingers getting back filling in and helping out the full-backs, the shape, the desire to get back and double up and help out your teammates, tackle and run without the ball as quickly backwards and you do forwards.’
Carrick also urged the players to harness the energy inside Old Trafford and use it to their advantage. He had spoken to the media beforehand about it being a magical place, and for once it felt that way again.
‘I think one important thing that he said was “use the energy of the people” and today I think we did it,’ revealed Lisandro Martinez. ‘When we are together like this it is impossible to lose at home.’
After the Old Trafford hierarchy were left with little option but to sack Amorim, they decided to appoint a United man who was familiar with the club and the environment. Someone who could step into the role with minimal integration. Someone who knew the United way. They could never have hoped it would pay off so spectacularly.
Out of Africa
Carrick got lucky in the sense that his first game in charge coincided with the return of Mbeumo and Diallo from the Africa Cup of Nations.
United have been without them both since the 4-4 draw with Bournemouth a month ago, and have missed the pace and energy they bring to the attack in general, and right flank in particular.
Both players were outstanding here. Carrick took the bold decision to start Mbeumo through the middle instead of a more conventional striker in Benjamin Sesko, and it gave United the pace they needed to hit City on the break.
The Cameroon international was a constant threat and should have scored before he fired United ahead with a precision finish in front of the Stretford End.
‘Scoring in front of this stand is unbelievable,’ said Mbeumo. ‘It is not easy because we only had three days, but this place was unbelievable today.’
Diallo was also excellent on his return following international duty with Ivory Coast. He gave Nathan Ake a torrid time in the first half, and when Guardiola sent on Nico O’Reilly at half-time to mark him, he was booked for fouling Diallo inside three minutes of the restart.
Having had a goal ruled out in the first half, Diallo was denied again by the woodwork towards the end.
Carrick also made a big call by dropping Matheus Cunha to the bench and playing Patrick Dorgu on the left. The Brazilian has been below-par in recent games, but he is a £62.5million summer signing and a big character in this United squad.
The result was that Dorgu had arguably his best game for United and scored the second goal, once again showing what he can offer in attack. He certainly made a bigger impression than Antoine Semenyo who turned down United to join City in the January window.
When Cunha came on for Mbeumo, he was a man with a point to prove and set up Dorgu’s goal before nearly getting another assist when Mount’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Maguire gamble pays off
Carrick acknowledged that bringing back Maguire was a calculated gamble given that the big England defender’s only appearance since early November had been as a substitute off the bench in last weekend’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
But the new United boss recognised the need for experience against City. As well as youngsters Ayden Heaven, in particular, and Leny Yoro have played this season, Carrick wanted an older head to keep Erling Haaland quiet.
‘I felt it was a game for experience and knowing what it feels like,’ he said. ‘It was a big ask for Harry and credit to him. He’s literally trained for two or three days for probably eight or nine weeks, so it just shows you what it means really to him. I thought he was fantastic. Between him and Licha (Martinez), they were so solid at the back and gave us the foundation to build on.’
Derided by former United stars Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt before the game over his size, Martinez produced another towering performance against Haaland, highlighted by an excellent block to keep out his shot in the second half.
The Norwegian had ended the first period limping down the tunnel last following treatment after Maguire got back to stop him in his tracks. Haaland may be out-of-form right now, but very few teams keep him as quiet as United did here.
United’s full-backs deserve a mention too after both Dalot and Luke Shaw were booked early. They did an excellent marking job on Doku and Semenyo with Guardiola’s decision to switch them to the opposite flank at half-time having little effect.
Michael gets his middle right
Midfield has been a problem for United managers in recent times. Under Erik ten Hag, his 4-2-3-1 formation was undermined by an inability to protect the midfield pivot, so teams would cut through the heart of United with alarming ease.
Under Amorim, he dropped Bruno Fernandes deeper into the four-man midfield in his 3-4-2-1 system which, one, weakened United in that area defensively and, two, blunted the captain’s attacking threat. Meanwhile, Kobbie Mainoo was frozen out and Manuel Ugarte rarely looked like a £50m player.
Carrick (and, to be fair, Fletcher) took a more pragmatic approach that saw round pegs in round holes; Fernandes further forward in his more preferred No.10 role, and Mainoo making his first Premier League start since May alongside Casemiro. The rest of the team worked harder around those two to prevent City getting through them.
Goodness knows what Mainoo did to upset Amorim, but the boy is in need of a little affection to get him back to his best. Carrick, not a bad role model as a midfielder, might be just the man to do it.
‘I think Kobbie is a fantastic player, he has huge talent, he has huge ability,’ said the United boss. ‘He has played in some unbelievable big occasions and coped with it. He has played for the national team in huge games, as well. I am looking forward to seeing him thrive.’
Beware the false dawn
A word of warning. Manchester United have been a ruthless counter-attacking team for some time. Many of their best results have come against the bigger clubs, catching them on the break.
Ten Hag’s momentous FA Cup final win over City in 2024, or the classic 4-3 win over Liverpool in the quarter-finals, are a case in point. Don’t forget last season’s smash and grab at the Etihad derby when United came back to win 2-1 with Diallo’s late effort.
United managers have tried to build a team that can win games by dominating them without much success. In that sense, there is nothing to say Carrick can’t go to the Emirates next weekend and find a way to out-fox Arteta again when United face leaders Arsenal.
Strange as it may seem, the tricker tests come when United have to unlock teams who defend deep. Amorim’s demise came on the back of disappointing draws against Bournemouth, Wolves, Leeds, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and West Ham.
Fans have witnessed too many false dawns to get carried away by one win – but they will take beating City for now.
