United lined up against Newcastle United over a week ago as though they were a strong side playing against a decent mid-table side. Of course, anyone who has closely followed United will know of United’s dismal record against Newcastle United in recent years, especially at St. James’ Park.
Michael Carrick would’ve known this going into the game, but he gambled. It must be said that he was in a position to gamble going into this game because he had earned that right through some strong performances,
but mostly through the strength of the results that he had overseen since his appointment.
Assessing the opposition is always key, and the game against Aston Villa last week was particularly intriguing in this regard: were Aston Villa a strong side in poor form or a decent side that has overperformed? Not to mention, United are always expected to take the game to the opponent at home.
Instead of going for his three most prolific forwards as he did against Newcastle United, Carrick started Amad Diallo. He got Benjamin Sesko to make an impact off the bench once again. It worked, and United looked primed for Champions League football next season in a way that didn’t look a week ago.
The performance wasn’t extraordinary, but there was a degree of comfort in the way United went about proceedings that was highly encouraging. With talented but imperfect squads like the one Michael Carrick has inherited, such assessments against average to good sides are crucial because simply relying on the talent within the squad to overpower the opposition is unlikely to work on most matchdays.
Previous interims like Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Carrick himself, and Ruud van Nistelrooy had also brought back some stability in their interim runs, and in the case of Solskjær, even moments of euphoria. Michael Carrick knows only too well that one poor result can undo the momentum built under a new manager. The win against Manchester City set the tone for the immediate bounce following Ruben Amorim’s underwhelming spell, but the win against Villa could set the tone for the rest of the season and help fight against the inertia that seemed to have seeped into the side last month.
The win shouldn’t be taken lightly under the circumstances.
