The Cameroon forward's strike against Spurs was his third goal in four matches under the new manager but Mbeumo believes things were not going too badly under the previous regime
Bryan Mbeumo celebrates Manchester United's opening goal following a slick set-piece routine
Bryan Mbeumo has now scored ten goals in all competitions for Manchester United this season(Image: James Gill/Danehouse)
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It was not his cleanest strike but it was a game-changer and one that brought wide smiles to Michael Carrick and his coaching staff. And the set-piece special gave Bryan Mbeumo his third goal in four games under Carrick. He is certainly enjoying life under the man who is, for now, only a short-term manager.
Carrick has now celebrated four victories, his side scoring ten goals in the process. In their previous four Premier League games, Manchester United had won only one, scoring five goals in the process.
It certainly looks like a quite spectacular resurgence but Mbeumo believes it is not as dramatic as most people like to make out. Mbeumo clearly believes they were making some sort of progress under Ruben Amorim.
He explains: “I just feel we built on what we were doing from the start because I don't think it was that bad as a lot of people felt. We just work together, make the effort together, with a big mentality, and we're never beaten. Even if someone gets past, we come back to support and just try to give it our all.”
Mbeumo now has ten goals in all competitions since his £71million move from Brentford in the summer and his latest effort came from a short-corner routine that was, in part, the training-ground work of Jonny Evans. Carrick praised Evans for his work but Mbeumo admitted things did not quite go to plan when they first tried it out.
Mbeumo said: “It was Jonny Evans who was coming to me and the guys and we just tried to hit it. We did it once but it didn't work out. But this one was the most important.”
Mbeumo struck soon after Spurs skipper Cristian Romero had been sent off and his goal sparked another carnival-style occasion at Old Trafford that ended with Bruno Fernandes sealing victory. The feelgood factor is definitely back.
Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick celebrates
Michael Carrick has won all four of his games in this stint as Manchester United manager(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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The Cameroon striker smiled: “The fans are a massive community and we feel that when we get onto the pitch. We want to make them happy, so we just try to use their energy that they give us and try to give our best.”
Mbeumo is clearly determined not to get carried away with United’s fine run of form. And the same goes for his manager.
Apart from the odd moment or two, Carrick cuts a calm and composed figure in the technical area, despite the excitement of four victories on the spin. He is certainly no Pep Guardiola in his level of animation.
Carrick explained: “I think it's just managing the moment. I'm not particularly thinking I need to look a certain way. I’m not into that. It's not a performance for me.
Bryan Mbeumo scores the opening goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Bryan Mbeumo's opener against Spurs came from a slick short-corner routine(Image: Marc Atkins, Getty Images)
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“I think it helps make clear decisions. It’s trying to understand how the game's going on. There's certainly an emotional side, you know.
“I’ve made myself look a little bit silly with some of the celebrations from certain goals that we've had, but that's part of football, and you've got to enjoy the moments at certain times. But there's definitely another bit of trying to be calm and thoughtful and calculate it at the right time as well.”
His calm and thoughtful approach is certainly paying dividends and that is the way in which he is determined to carry on, saying: “We're not getting carried away. I'm certainly not thinking everything's great. We've cracked it, you know? There's a lot of work to do, so I'm fully aware of that.”
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