Michael Carrick was mild-mannered to the last. His expression was sober, his immediate reaction to offer handshakes. To look at him, it was not evident Manchester United had recorded the most emphatic of derby wins. Yet the soundtrack was different, the chorus of Carrick’s name coming from the Stretford End. And if Carrick was calm, a glance at many another told a different tale.
As Manchester City, overpowered, overrun, headed for the tunnel, United could do a lap of honour, not the one of apology to which they have become accustomed. For Carrick, it was a stunning start. For the United powerbrokers who had got too many big calls wrong in the last two years, this was an early indication they have got their latest coaching choice right. Carrick’s decisions, of his starting 11, substitutions and tactics, were superb.
Michael Carrick was mild-mannered to the last. His expression was sober, his immediate reaction to offer handshakes. To look at him, it was not evident Manchester United had recorded the most emphatic of derby wins. Yet the soundtrack was different, the chorus of Carrick’s name coming from the Stretford End. And if Carrick was calm, a glance at many another told a different tale.
As Manchester City, overpowered, overrun, headed for the tunnel, United could do a lap of honour, not the one of apology to which they have become accustomed. For Carrick, it was a stunning start. For the United powerbrokers who had got too many big calls wrong in the last two years, this was an early indication they have got their latest coaching choice right. Carrick’s decisions, of his starting 11, substitutions and tactics, were superb.
His previous game in management was Middlesbrough’s 2-0 defeat to Coventry in May. Suffice to say this was very different. But it was a world apart from the last match at Old Trafford, the tame FA Cup exit to Brighton, and Ruben Amorim’s last, a wretched draw with Wolves. Carrick’s words proved prophetic. “I said yesterday it was a magic place and it certainly was today,” he said. It certainly felt that way on a raucous occasion.
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