Much has been made of Manchester United’s identity as the club search for a new permanent manager, and the latest display from Michael Carrick’s side proves they possess one key aspect of ‘the United way’.
A first-half goal from Matheus Cunha was enough to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with United producing the type of away performance that once typified the club as they climbed 10 points above their opponents in the race for the Champions League.
Results under Michael Carrick have slowed down in recent weeks, but his side came to Stamford Bridge knowing that a win would all but seal a return to the Champions League. They got it courtesy of a smash-and-grab away performance that harked back to the days of Alex Ferguson; Carrick might be on the touchline now, but he clearly learned a thing or two from his former boss.
Games away to the so-called ‘Big Six’ always require a different approach, one that Ferguson often used to earn results at the likes of Anfield, the Emirates and Stamford Bridge. Defensive solidity was key, as was a team capable of launching quick, incisive counter-attacks with one-touch football.
And Carrick has clearly taken on some of the ideas of his former boss, with the visitors set up to counter from the first whistle, as was the case at the Emirates a few months ago.
But while setting up in such a way can look genius if it works, it can quickly unravel if the opposition scores early on, and Carrick’s masterplan almost came undone early on as the hosts dominated the opening exchanges.
There were shaky moments for United, with the makeshift centre-back pairing of Ayden Heaven and Noussair Mazraoui tested early on. Heaven was lucky to get away with an early challenge on Cole Palmer just outside the box before Estevao went close, his curled effort grazing the far post in the first real chance of the game.
Enzo Fernandez made his return to the starting line-up and he should have scored the opener – the Argentine firing narrowly wide of the far post after a mix-up in the box saw the ball fall kindly – while Liam Delap thought he had done, but Cole Palmer had strayed offside.
But United fired a warning of what they could do on the counter. The ball was cleared and quickly worked to Bruno Fernandes, who saw Bryan Mbeumo racing into space. While the Portuguese picked his teammate out and Mbeumo found Cunha, the Brazilian’s touch was heavy and the chance went begging.
Though Chelsea continued having more of the ball, the home crowd was getting restless, their team occasionally forced to slow the game down and go backwards. Home fans clearly felt that they needed to press home their advantage while they were clearly on top, and they were right.
The earlier chance for Cunha had been a warning, but he didn’t need a second invitation as he opened the scoring with an accomplished finish. Fernandes worked some of usual magic as he escaped a couple of challenges on the right wing before laying off an inch-perfect cutback for his teammate to blast past a helpless Robert Sanchez.
It was not a goal the visitors deserved but it left Chelsea with plenty to do, the hosts having dominated possession in the first half without creating many clear-cut opportunities.
Stamford Bridge was already on edge and it wasn’t helped by a poor start to the second half, with the visitors starting better but unable to make anything of a couple of promising openings as Fernandes failed to find the final pass twice.
The hosts were in desperate need of a big moment and it almost came courtesy of Liam Delap, the striker rising highest before seeing his glanced header cannon back off the crossbar.
That was the first time in the second half that Chelsea had shown any real impetus, and it turned the game in the hosts’ favour. Suddenly they had the lion’s share of possession and the chances to go with it. Cole Palmer volleyed off-target from Gusto’s cross, Caicedo blasted a low effort wide, and a few promising openings were closed by last-ditch blocks from United defenders.
The tension rose at Stamford Bridge as it felt like the hosts were getting closer and closer to an inevitable equaliser, but the visitors continued to frustrate.
The return of Kobbie Mainoo meant United looked much more assured in possession in midfield, while the defensive unit was impressive throughout, Heaven growing into the game, Mazraoui offering a cool head and several players producing vital blocks when under pressure.
Liam Rosenior explained that his side had “wave after wave of attack” but in truth they did not do enough, often looking a little toothless while some key players were guilty of messing up promising openings. Carrick said his side “probably could’ve played a little better at times”, but in the end they didn’t have to and they wrapped up a hard-fought three points.
It looks like a return to the Champions League is on the horizon, and while United will face more difficult opposition before the end of the season as they look to judge whether Carrick is the right fit, it’s another result that looks good on the CV for the interim boss.
A string of impressive results against the top teams with smash-and-grab performances won’t be enough to secure Carrick the job in the longer-term, but it does prove that the former United midfielder is an astute operator, and it lays a decent foundation for the future if the right work can be done to iron out performances such as that against Leeds earlier in the week.
After the final whistle, Carrick said that “these are the moments we live for”. If he can incorporate parts of that ‘United identity’, he may have many more to come.
