Man United once had a terrible January 2026 period, and no one even thought they could finish the season in the Champions League group. However, by this time, Michael Carrick's team has climbed to 3rd place and tends to defend it very firmly. Remember that since May 2023, the "Red Devils" have only climbed so high in the rankings.
A bleak winter has passed for Ruben Amorim and given way to Michael Carrick. With the English strategist, Man United is unbeaten in 7 matches and has won 6. Looking broadly, they have not lost in the last 11 matches in the Premier League. Currently, only Inter Milan is the team with a more unbeaten streak in the domestic league than Man United in the top 5 European leagues.
Man United entered the match against Crystal Palace with countless difficulties when the force was lacking, even losing Luke Shaw when the match was taking place. Underdog teams, including Crystal Palace, understand that just playing with a deep defense is enough to make it difficult for Man United. Carrick said after the match that those were 30 minutes of difficulty to the end for the "Red Devils".
However, with the remaining players on the field, they are all very serious and determined to score to the end. All are no longer allowed to repeat redundant technical performances, not bothering to argue about tackles after collisions,... They are more confident and often encourage each other right on the field after poor tackles. Among these, the role of captain of Bruno Fernandes is most clearly shown when he is not only a bridge for Carrick, in some situations, this veteran midfielder also boosts the morale of his teammates to a high level.
From the victory against Everton to the match against Crystal Palace, the mark of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Senne Lammens or Benjamin Sesko is too big. They are the ones who directly made the recent victories for the "Red Devils". Sesko scored continuously right in the team's acceleration phase. Cunha and Mbeumo still show why they are called football players in the Premier League. As for Lammens, he has a clean sheet rate of up to 30% under Carrick, something unprecedented when he played under Ruben Amorim.
Man United's new and old players at this time have one thing in common, they both believe in what Michael Carrick is doing. As Bruno Fernandes once shared, all the old and new seem to have no distance, all look in the same direction as the coach. Putting aside big egos, focusing together to complete short-term goals, that is how the team is doing and doing well at this time.
Man United is currently 3rd in the standings and they have done that in just 7 matches against Michael Carrick. In the next 10 matches, it is difficult to be confident that Man United can win all or even be undefeated. However, in the context of an increasingly harsh league, if they always maintain absolute concentration as they are now, the "Red Devils" have the right to dream of finishing in 3rd place.
