Forget Arsenal and Man City: Man Utd boss Carrick (just) passes true test vs Fulham
Beating Manchester City and Arsenal is fun. Very fun, in fact. It is a true statement and emphasises tactical nous against the best managers. But it’s your Fulhams, your Crystal Palaces, your Evertons that Michael Carrick has to beat.
Ruben Amorim’s record against the ‘Big Six’ clubs wasn’t horrible. He won at the Etihad. He won at Anfield. He won at the Emirates (albeit after penalties). He beat Newcastle and Chelsea at Old Trafford this season. And in last season’s Europa League semi-finals, he smashed Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate.
But his final game in charge was a score draw at Leeds United after losing at home to 10-man Everton, failing to beat Wolves, potentially the worst side in Premier League history, at home, and also drawing at home to an awful West Ham side. There seemed to be a new nadir every month.
What Carrick has done effectively in his opening two weeks is the cliched Back To Basics thing. People often say managers must Go Back To Basics without actually knowing what that entails. Rondos and starting Kobbie Mainoo, apparently.
Arsenal were punished by an effective counter-attacking team capable of taking their chances, big and small, a week after a convincing win over Manchester City.
On Sunday, Fulham faced Michael Carrick’s Manchester United as underdogs. It was the first time in three games the Red Devils were expected to win under Carrick’s watch, and they dealt with the pressure to pass a very important test by the skin of their teeth.
United were absolutely not perfect, as the 3-2 scoreline suggests. They still gave up plenty of chances and conceded three times, one of which was ruled out by the narrowest of offsides.
Carrick’s United are direct, even with Bryan Mbeumo up front by himself. They feed off second balls and counter effectively. Sometimes they defend well too. Other times, the club’s modern-day DNA comes through.
Raul Jimenez’s late penalty set up a nervous ending and United did sh*t the bed as Kevin’s beauty levelled the scoring. But it was that good old United DNA that saved them as substitute Benjamin Sesko popped up with a fantastic 94th-minute winner.
It was an important test for Carrick but also an important lesson. Chelsea and Liam Rosenior learned that resting your best players is dangerous, and Carrick learned that taking them off, even at 2-0, is also pretty dangerous.
Casemiro, Ruben Amorim’s biggest success story, continues to impress and staked a claim for the club to extend his contract beyond this summer with a goal and an assist. However, the control United had was lost when he came off. The Brazilian has come a long way from that night at Selhurst Park, becoming an indispensable player who apparently can’t miss any minutes whatsoever.
His goal was an outstanding back-post header from a Bruno Fernandes free-kick following a Jorge Cuenca shirt-pull on Matheus Cunha, which United initially thought was going to be a penalty after Cuenca’s sliding tackle on Cunha. The replays suggested a goal kick was more likely, and we’re sure Marco Silva will have something very interesting to say.
Goal contributions aside, it was a commanding midfield performance from Casemiro. He and Mainoo provide a lovely balance in the middle of the park, and with Bruno Fernandes in front of them? Chef’s kiss.
For Carrick, it has genuinely been a case of playing your best players in their best positions and standing in the technical area with your hands behind your back as a well-functioning XI do their thing. And from now on, he will play his best players for even longer. Amazingly, that is a better idea than bringing on Manuel Ugarte.
While it was a scare for United and could have prompted a very different reaction from us, Carrick’s perfect start continued. It was comfortable for the most part against weaker opposition in good form, which tells us more about Carrick and United’s credentials than wins against the Premier League’s top two, especially when these were the fixtures the previous manager struggled with most.
It’s two wins from two at Old Trafford and an away win against the league leaders, who hadn’t lost at home all season before United’s brilliant 3-2 victory. That also happened to be the first time Arsenal and their rock-solid defence have conceded three goals in a match since December 2023.
Two whole calendar years without conceding three goals in a game is quite something. For all the talk of Arsenal capitulating, Carrick deserves huge credit for that victory, not just the brilliant start he has made.
Aston Villa might want to look over their shoulder as Carrick’s United soar. The players look confident and settled. Everyone is contributing. The partnerships are working well all over the pitch. For once, it actually looks like a football team enjoying themselves and a group of players who genuinely like each other.
They are simply functioning after looking completely and utterly lost a month ago. Carrickball is cooking. That’s what the cool kids say, right?
