High intensity and controlled counterattacks: How Michael Carrick's Manchester United outplayed Manchester City

There is a difference between possession football and attacking football. Often, we equate keeping the ball to attacking dominance. Defending and counterattacking to win against a superior team is nothing new in football. Many sides have done that, including Crystal Palace in last season's FA Cup final. Another team that has done it well in recent years is Manchester United.

United has always been good at counterattacks. But, 'back in the day' they also controlled the game better, using the counterattacks mainly to kill off opponents. Now, there is a constant vulnerability. But, against the big teams, United still sporadically produce the odd result. There is no vision, only short-term tactics. It has become the trademark of the Red Devils in the last few seasons.

Jose Mourninho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim all beat City. The first two were naturally defensive coaches. The latter two were highly regarded young managers who played specific systems, but were forced to go to a defence-focused setup by the prevalent issues at United.

This pattern of United's occasional gritty performance against better teams being usually followed by a loss against relatively weaker teams, has earned them the nickname 'Robinhood FC' among a section of theit fanbase. So, it has to be clear to the realistic fans that the real test will come later, against the teams that do not dominate possession. That is when Solskjaer's team usually looked lost.

It is very relevant to talk about Solskjaer's team now. Because interim head coach Michael Carrick was the actual tactician during the Norwegian's reign. But, as boss, Carrick has also shown a more intense style, both at Middlesbrough as well as his four matches at United (three in 2021). That was evident in the intensity United players showed today. This coupled with City's shaky defence and a below par performance from Rodri in the City midfield was enough to produce a contest that would have delighted the Untited faithful.

This doesn't mean that there is nothing to celebrate for United fans worldwide. While City had 68.1 per cent of the possession, United dominated in terms of expected goals (XG). The team in red had an incredible XG of 2.03 against City's 0.45 - this is arguably one of the worst 'XG defeats' City have suffered during the Pep Guardiola era. United had 11 shots to City's seven and seven shots on target to City's solitary effort—a looping header from young centre-back Max Alleyne in the first half (he was booked for the second half). United also had three goals disallowed for offside; on another day, all three could have stood. And, City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma pulled off a couple of exceptional saves in the second half. So, the score could easily have been 5-0.

What Carrick did well in this match was to get the balance of the team right at the start and then not go too defensive after taking the lead (something Amorim was guilty of). He also made the bold call to start Patrick Dorgu ahead of Matheus Cunha on the left-wing. The Danish left-back had a largely impressive match, except for one or two lethargic movements when the ball was played to him. Choosing Bryan Mbeumo over Benjamin Sesko up top was a more straighforward decision. Despite finding the net in recent games, the Slovenian has simply missed too many chances to be a first-choice No. 9 for United at the moment. And, Amad Diallo simply had to be in the team at right-wing.

Going forward, Mbeumo is the best option up front. Cunha would have to be accomodated at left-wing against lesser opponents, with Dorgu coming in for tougher games. Casemiro was excellent in midfield and looks set to be the starting defensive midfielder ahead of Manuel Ugarte. And, Kobbie Mainoo was back in, thanks to Bruno Fernandes being back at his best position.

The next match, against Arsenal, will be tougher than this, as the league leaders are more defensively inclined than City. Also, the  defenders available to the London club are far superior to the backline that City were able to put out today. United's best performance under Amorim, in terms of having a clear style of play, was against Arsenal in the campaign's opening match. But, Carrick's approach is likely to be significantly different. And, it cannot be similar to the high-octane, counterattacking style he opted for against City. That will find much less success against the Gunners' defence.

Even if Carrick manages to follow this up with a win against Arsenal, United fans would do well to temper their expectations till he proves he can also get the results against the teams that focus more on defence than the league's high-fliers. The positive is that as United's best midfielder in the post-Alex Ferguson era, Carrick is uniquely qualified to solve United's midfield issue.