Michael Carrick reserves special praise for ‘fantastic’ Man Utd star after Sabah win – ‘he is a real joy’
Manchester United boss Michael Carrick has reserved praise for one of his players after they beat Sabah FK 4-0 on Thursday night.
Man Utd made their Champions League return on Thursday evening, facing Azerbaijani outfit Sabah FC in their opening group match.
This fixture against relative minnows enabled Man Utd to ease into the competition, and they cruised to a 4-0 win at Old Trafford.
Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martinez scored as Carrick was able to rest some key players before Sunday’s Manchester derby against Man City.
This match will be a much tougher test for Man Utd, but the match against Sabah FK has given them a platform to build on in the coming weeks.
Speaking post-match, Carrick commented on the positives for his side to take from the win against Sabah FK.
“It’s nice to keep a clean sheet and obviously win the game,” Carrick said on TNT Sports.
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“Some of the football we played was really good, dangerous on transition. I have to give them a lot of credit, they were difficult to play against.
“The result looks comfortable, it wasn’t always like that. We just did a lot of good things tonight, which gave us a good result.”
“He’s a fantastic player…”
Carrick then reserved praise for Kobbie Mainoo after he impressed for his boyhood club against Sabah FK following a strong start in the Premier League.
He added: “He’s a fantastic player, it’s pretty obvious to see.
“He has a massive influence on our games. He is a real joy to have, he wants to improve, he wants to listen and it is great to see.”
On United’s midfield, he continued: “We’ve got really good players. It’s nice to get Mason [Mount] and Andrey [Santos].
“There are some good connections and we have played some good football through the middle of the pitch.
“A lot of it is on wavelength and understanding of where each other wants the ball. Just understanding and developing is something we have done a bit more this season.
“We haven’t had the perfect start but there are really good signs. It’s always nice to win the first [Champions League game] one at home.”
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