Michael Carrick was left with a feeling of pride after seeing Man Utd dismantle Man City, but he revealed after the game that he was actually worried before the game.
It doesn’t take a tactical genius to figure out that Man Utd were in a bad place coming into the derby.
The team was preparing in the middle of a toxic atmosphere, with fingers being pointed at everyone, ranging from the owners to the directors and the players.
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Michael Carrick didn’t get the script as he masterminded a stunning 2-0 victory to reset the mood, but he made an honest admission after the game.
Michael Carrick was ‘worried’ about the players when he came
A big reason why a section of Man Utd fans wanted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to take over instead of Carrick was due to his ability to turn the morale around instantly.
Ultimately, that task was left to Carrick, but as per the Man Utd manager, he ended up having the opposite problem when he started working at Carrington.
He said after the derby win that he became worried upon seeing the players want to win so much that they could get carried away with emotions.
He urged them to channelise that desire without overstepping the line, something which almost happened when Diogo Dalot was booked for a stomp in the fifth minute.
However, he praised the players for striking that fine balance perfectly, and it left him feeling proud.
He said: “Last few days, I’ve really felt how much the players want to give something back to the fans. I was worried it might be over the top, because they really want to do well, but they handled the emotional aspect of the game incredibly well. That made me proud.”
Carrick’s challenge will begin after the next game
Without taking any credit away from Carrick, it’s important to put into context that United somehow always manage to get results when their backs are against the wall.
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Carrick coached an amazing defensive performance and mixed it with extreme vertical speed on transitions, but these are games where United can never be counted out.
As he said so himself, the players were up for it, and it showed as they won their duels, were first to second balls, and just outworked City.
The same might happen at Arsenal in their next game too, but the real challenge to keep this level of performance will be after that.
If United can maintain it, then the potential of this side makes it so that UCL qualification will not just be realistic, it will be likely.
For now, United can enjoy a famous win.
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