Michael Carrick’s tenure as Manchester United head coach, scheduled to last until the summer, could not have gotten off to a better start. After the victory over leaders Arsenal, there is great euphoria among the Red Devils.
Michael Carrick had coached Manchester United in three competitive games during his short interim tenure as head coach in the 2021/22 season, and the current era is now two games old. On Sunday, the former United pro proved once again that he seems to be visibly comfortable in this role.
2-0 at Unai Emery’s Villarreal, 1-1 at Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, 3-2 against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, 2-0 against Pep Guardiola’s ManCity and now another 3-2 win against Arteta’s Gunners: Carrick’s record on the United sidelines is definitely impressive.
Following their recent successes, the Red Devils are also the first team since Everton in February 2010 to win two Premier League games in a row against teams that were in the top two places at the time.
Carrick stays focused
“I’m not getting carried away,” the 44-year-old assured when asked about the newfound euphoria. “There are some big games coming up, even bigger games, because every next game is the most important game,” Carrick clarified, but added that the victories in the Manchester derby and against the league leaders could provide “a lot of emotion, a lot of energy and a lot of confidence.”
In the red part of Manchester, he said, “we have to remain humble and understand how we got these results.” This is “very important for the future,” according to Carrick. He himself is ‘enjoying’ the opportunity to coach the Red Devils: “We haven’t been together for two weeks yet, so it’s about developing good habits and routines. The boys have been fantastic at that,” said the Englishman, praising his protégés.
In a very short time, Carrick has undoubtedly succeeded in breathing new life into the team. Whereas the Red Devils often seemed restricted and sluggish under Ruben Amorim, they have appeared confident, determined, and liberated in their last two games.
Patrick Dorgu can be seen as the personification of this change, scoring goals against both ManCity and in North London, where he fired the ball spectacularly under the crossbar. This was a development that could not have been foreseen at the end of November, when Amorim had this to say about the Dane’s performances for United: “You can feel the nervousness every time Patrick touches the ball. I can feel it, that nervousness.”
Concerns after injury-enforced substitution
Just under two months later, Carrick describes the 21-year-old as a player who “has been hugely important for us in recent games. In many ways, he was outstanding offensively, but also defensively, against two teams that really challenge you.”
Meanwhile, the Red Devils were concerned about the substitution of Dorgu, who had previously grabbed the back of his right thigh during a running duel. While Carrick hopes it was just a cramp and “nothing serious,” Bruno Fernandes celebrates the in-form left-footer on Instagram: The captain captioned a celebratory photo with the Dane “Ballon D’Orgu,” which he would probably like to repeat in the upcoming home game against Fulham (Sunday, 3 p.m.).