Many bright spots of Man United
Man United defeated Sabah 4-0 at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martinez.
Coach Carrick emphasized that the match was not as simple as the score showed, but he was very happy to see coordinated plays appear in narrow midfield areas, which he wanted to apply.
“I think the individuals played very well and the whole team, with the players who started from the beginning, have done a very good job of maintaining stability in form. This is very important and good when Man United can change the course of the match. Keeping a clean sheet is also very important. We have shown a lot in the match against Sabah, taking advantage of opportunities well and creating a difference,” Carrick said.
In addition to the result and playing style, what Carrick is most satisfied with is the connection and coordination in midfield that Man United has shown well, even when Mason Mount and Andrey Santos came on in the second half. Improving connection is one of the important tasks Carrick has set out this season, in the context that Man United has added 3 new personnel in midfield and participated in many competitions.
Besides, Man United also succeeded in resting some key players. Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford did not play. Tielemans was substituted off the field at the beginning of the second half and Mbeumo also did not play the whole match. These factors are likely to be used in the match against Man City this weekend.
According to Carrick, this victory gives Man United more confidence. He emphasized that his team played well for most of the time against Everton, which was only affected at the end of the match, when the opponent scored 2 super goals to equalize. His next goal with his students is to aim for a victory at home against Man City at the weekend.
Towards the Manchester derby
In the Premier League, Man City has won all 3 matches since the beginning of the season, currently ranked 2nd in the standings. They also just defeated FC Porto 2-0 away in the UEFA Champions League. Meanwhile, Man United only has 4 points in the Premier League. However, home advantage and confidence are promising to be the mainstay for Bruno Fernandes and his teammates.
Last season, Man United defeated Man City 2-0 at Old Trafford. But the Red Devils have not won against Man City twice in a row at home in the Premier League since a three-game winning streak from the 2008-2009 to 2010-2011 seasons.
After 58 encounters in the Premier League, Man United has an advantage with 27 wins compared to 21 for Man City. However, Man City has scored more goals - 84 goals and only conceded 81 goals.
At Old Trafford, the head-to-head record between the two teams is also quite close, with United winning 13 times and Man City winning 9 matches.
Erling Haaland has scored 8 goals in 7 Premier League appearances against Man United, but only 2 of them were scored at Old Trafford.
Only Mo Salah (13) and Alan Shearer (10) scored more goals against Man United in Premier League history.
The Man United vs Man City match will take place at 10:30 PM on September 13.
