Michael Carrick showcased his managerial credentials with Manchester United defeating City at Old Trafford.
Manchester United fans are still swept up in the derby hysteria from the weekend, thanks to a stirring 2-0 win over City in the derby.
The 2-0 scoreline does not do the performance justice, with United’s players immediately buying into Michael Carrick’s methods, with just three days of training.
Michael Carrick deserves huge credit for everything he got right in the derby win, and in the process, he exposed key mistakes made by former boss Ruben Amorim.
Let’s take a look at four ways Carrick exposed Amorim’s errors…
Michael Carrick is off to the PERFECT START at Man Utd, and he wants more!
Why do you think it went SO RIGHT for Carrick against City?
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Two centre-backs, while keeping width
When Manchester United hired Ruben Amorim, the intention was to bring in a coach with a clear tactical plan. But over the course of his first 12 months, it was clear that Amorim’s tactics were not a magic bullet to success.
Poor results piled up and Manchester United’s technical team started asking questions of Amorim and asking him to start switching his tactics. Amorim was reluctant and this led to his eventual departure.
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Michael Carrick abandoned Amorim’s three-man central defence, reverting to using two centre-backs in a flat back four.
While Darren Fletcher did this a week ago against Brighton, there was one key difference, with United creating a threat from wide positions with Patrick Dorgu and Amad on the wings.
It was a throwback to Manchester United teams of old, like the ones Carrick played in under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Where Amorim complicated the game, Carrick simplified it with devastating effect.
Manchester United players celebrate
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After going 1-0 up, attack
Ruben Amorim’s teams were not aggressive enough and often failed to go for the kill. Carrick’s United were relentless.
After going 1-0 up, Manchester United did not sit back or make negative substitutions, they went all out for a second goal.
Once United made it 2-0, the only intention was to score more goals. It should have been 3-0 if not for the tightest offside decision you will see, and there was still time for Amad to strike the post.
This was Manchester United DNA. The crowd were off their feet to enjoy this all-action, all-attack performance from a determined Red Devils team.
Kobbie Mainoo, remember him?
Ruben Amorim consistently overlooked Kobbie Mainoo, complaining that the midfield talent was not the right fit for his system.
What does that say about Amorim’s system? Michael Carrick is a big believer in Kobbie Mainoo and put him straight into the team.
Mainoo looked like he had never been away with a slick, controlled performance that showed why he broke into the team in the first place.
It is simply outrageous that Amorim did not start Mainoo for a single Premier League game all season, and this victory reinforced what a big mistake it was.
How would YOU rate Kobbie Mainoo’s performance vs City out of 10?
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Bruno Fernandes at 10
One of the big reasons Kobbie Mainoo could not get a look-in for United under Amorim was because he chose to select Bruno Fernandes in a deeper midfield role.
Fernandes is good enough to make that work, but in doing so you take him further away from the goalmouth action.
The Portuguese maestro is more devastating when he is in the final third, and every time he took possession against City he showed why.
Fernandes always chose the right option, timing his passes perfectly, creating six goalscoring chances.
Fernandes needs to be playing in the number 10 role, and while that creates another logjam of competition with his attacking teammates, it is the best option for the team.
Bruno Fernandes cut City apart – now he needs to do it against Arsenal next weekend!
He was extremely unlucky to have a goal ruled out of his own
Fernandes
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