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If Sesko broke Everton’s hearts at one end of the field, another summer recruit, Senne Lammens, did it at the other.
The Belgian goalkeeper kept out a blockbuster strike from Michael Keane, which Moyes felt sure was going in, then dealt superbly with a series of corners dropped under his crossbar as Everton literally tried to force an equaliser.
“Their goalie was brilliant tonight,” was Moyes’ blunt reaction.
“The save he made from Michael, the way he dealt with corner kicks. The pressure we had. For me, their goalkeeper was the best player.”
Carrick is the one who benefits though, just as he is benefiting from the decision of United’s recruitment department to block Amorim’s calls to bring in Emi Martinez from Aston Villa on summer transfer deadline day and instead place their faith in a relatively young £18.1m goalkeeper with just one full season of senior football in Belgium behind him.
Lammens is 23. Sesko is 22. United might not quite be winning trophies with kids, but they have a young generation that is beginning to blossom.
It was brought to Carrick’s attention after the Everton game that his former United team-mate and all-time great goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was analysing the game on TV with Carragher.
Carrick skilfully navigated the question of whether there are comparisons to be drawn between the two men.
“I’ve got to be careful what I say,” he said.
“I don’t want to be comparing them because I don’t think it’s fair to Senne. But there’s definitely similarities.
“You want a goalkeeper to be reliable and trustworthy. Instead of creating a chaos, you want him to take the chaos away and calm things down. I think Senne is that.
“He’s quite quiet at times and unassuming, but he’s got real steel. It’s a big role for some, and it’s about being comfortable in your environment.
“Sometimes it takes time, sometimes not, but he has that calmness and composure. It helps those in front of him an awful lot.”
At the start of the season, United’s stated aim was to get back into Europe.
Even internally, it was felt reaching the Europa League was the most realistic target, and financial estimates were created around that.
However, in the wake of Amorim’s exit, director of football Jason Wilcox spoke to the players about reaching the Champions League.
The difference in status and finance is huge.
United have now gone 10 consecutive Premier League games without defeat for the first time since a run of 14 between January and May 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
From their current position, with no European distractions, which is something Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool all have, it would be a major disappointment for them if United were not to seal a return to European football’s top table.
“Manchester United are now virtually guarantees for one of the Champions League places,” said Carragher. “I can’t see them not making it.”
