‘Calm Down!’—Man Utd’s Convincing Derby Win Divides Opinion Among Pundits

Michael Carrick’s tactical changes unlocked the potential for Eric Cantona-like displays.

Manchester United convincingly saw off their rivals City. | Joe Prior/Visionhaus/Getty Images

Manchester United’s 2–0 win over Manchester City in Michael Carrick’s first game in charge set pulses racing at Old Trafford—but there’s been a mixed reaction from former club legends as caution was mixed in with excitement and emotion.

Carrick opted to hand Kobbie Mainoo a first Premier League start of the season, pushing Bruno Fernandes higher up the field, and the former England midfielder stuck with playing a back four like former caretaker Darren Fletcher had done for United’s two previous matches.

He was also able to welcome back Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo from AFCON duty—the former starting in a central role instead of Benjamin Šeško and the latter on the opposing flank to Patrick Dorgu.

Mbeumo and Dorgu were the ones to settle the contest, in which United had several clear-cut chances, and there was a raucous atmosphere as the home support were thrown back to yesteryear by a performance that was common place under Sir Alex Ferguson.

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Keane: Everybody Needs to Calm Down

Roy Keane typically refused to get carried away. | Sky Sports

The emotion of United beating their noisy neighbours was overwhelming for some, but outspoken pundit Roy Keane was steadfast in his post-match comments that United must be grounded.

“Let’s judge it over the next few months. The key for him is trying to get momentum in the team,” Keane stated, in a heated discussion with fellow pundits Daniel Sturridge and Micah Richards—both of whom were keen to praise United for the manner of their win.

“He is an English coach, the English media will be pushing for him. He has done well today, but let’s see how he does.,” Keane continued. "They’ve won one game! The last manager won one game. He’s only been there three days.”

Adding further context, Keane was quick to point out that Carrick had enjoyed favoured circumstances in comparison to Fletcher, namely the return of Mbeumo and Amad from international duty and Harry Maguire in central defence. “Everyone is available, City at home, they’ve been little bit off it, he could have had a man sent off,” he chuntered.

“Timing and a bit of luck, they have made the most of it. Take nothing away from him—but everyone just calm down.”

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Neville: Performance Was Like Man Utd of Old

Gary Neville was hugely encouraged. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

On the opposite end of the positivity spectrum was Gary Neville, who has spoken for a number of years about Manchester United’s ‘DNA’ and the need for whoever is managing the club to connect and identify with previously held values.

Neville was blunt in his assessment that things have been “awful” at United, yet this showing had proved that the team are capable of bringing the glory days back if they follow the tried and tested formula that outclassed a City side who have won six Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola.

“We’ve been conditioned to believe you cannot play like Manchester United play. That’s what I’ve been told for the last three, four, five years, ‘Move on, you can’t play that way anymore,’” Neville said. “I’m sorry, you can play that way in modern football, you’ve just watched 90 minutes of it, 90 minutes of exactly what I think this club plays like when it’s actually at its very best.

“It’s not a time to say that Manchester United will sustain this and carry up the league, this has got to be a bridge towards potentially getting a European place, top five would be amazing.

“But this is not the return of Manchester United, it’s the return of at least something that looks like the club. It’s been a pale imitation this last many years really. It’s been awful. Some of the performances here, you have to see a good one to remind you about how bad it has been.”

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Fernandes Back Where He Can Make an Impact

Bruno Fernandes flourished in his first game under Michael Carrick. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

One aspect of United’s play that impressed Neville most was the way Bruno Fernandes was able to impact the game as a creative No. 10. Under Ruben Amorim, the Portuguese midfielder was shunted into a deeper role alongside Casemiro—a tactic that clearly did not play to his strengths. Here, Carrick let the 31-year-old’s ability do the talking, playing just behind Mbeumo to be the figurehead of a number of attacks.

“That’s where he’s got to play, be near to goal, be where you can hurt them, because he’s a great player. We don’t want to see him back in a midfield two in front of a back three,” Neville mused. “Is that where we want to see him? No, it’s definitely not right. I just saw so many things that reminded me of what this club plays like, what their DNA is, what they should be.

“I’ve always said Manchester United’s system is such, you have a forward and then you have a No 10, it can be [Dwight] Yorke, it can be Cantona, it can be [Wayne] Rooney, it can be [Carlos] Tevez, it can be [Dimitar] Berbatov. Those players that just drop in off a striker, Scholes did it for a number of years.

”We’ve always had that most talented player close to our striker and feeding them, and that’s what made me a little bit emotional on that goal.”

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