Michael Carrick has Manchester United looking a little bit like the Manchester United of old after beating title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two games as interim boss.
ARSENAL 2-3 MAN UNITED — Video highlights & recap
Below is the latest Michael Carrick reaction, speaking after Bryan Mbeumo, Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha scored goals to beat the Gunners 3-2 on Sunday.
Michael Carrick reaction — What did interim Man United boss say after shocking Premier League leaders Arsenal?
“Massively proud. I think it was different to last week — two very different games, as we talked before the game it was going to be different today. They put us under a lot of pressure in different ways and we didn’t have as much regular threat as we did last week, but I thought there were periods when we did look really dangerous. To come here and score three goals in the manner we did, going 1-0 down and having to come back, then a setback and keep going. Matheus [Cunha] with a huge moments for us. The boys put an awful lot in today, it probably didn’t come as easy as — not that it was easy last week, but the flow of the game and the rhythm with us the whole time. This one we had to dig deeper and it was a massive effort. I’m really proud of them.”
On the unity at the club: “It’s a real collective feeling and it’s great when it comes together and everyone’s in it, and we can celebrate with the fans at the end. I think it’s important and a big moment. My kids were in there — there’s not so much kids anymore, but they’re in the away end. That in itself is emotional, it’s the passion and the excitement of these types of games and to come out on top is fantastic.”
On the difference between Man City and Arsenal wins: “The whole atmosphere last week [at home] from the start, you ride that wave and emotionally it’s a constant high in some ways. Today coming away [from home], we had to create our own energy between us. The away fans in the corner were incredible. … I thought we took the ball really well at times and played forward, really positive and got the rewards from it.”
On the turnaround after going a goal down: “We understood the start of the game was going to be like that. As much as we try to turn the momentum in our favor, I think we understood how the game was going to go and the flow of it. We started to take the ball in connections through the pitch and had that composure in a few moments — probably gained a bit of confidence as well, which is understandable — we were having a decent spell and started to come into the game when they scored, which was disappointing. Again, we showed the character to come back.”
On the progress the team is making: “There’s all sorts of little connections throughout the pitch. The unity was very strong. It’s only been 10 days and it was never going to be perfect, we couldn’t expect to come here and dominate the whole game. We’re just starting off, really, so it’s a great starting point but we need to put some layers on top and we’ll try to do that in the coming weeks.”
