Bruno Fernandes reveals secret to United’s rise under Michael Carrick | OneFootball

Manchester United have been on a spectacular run in the Premier League following Michael Carrick’s arrival as caretaker manager in January. The Red Devils were stuttering under former head coach Ruben Amorim when INEOS decided to take a stand in January.

The Portuguese’s 14-month nightmare reign at Old Trafford came to an end and Carrick was appointed as a temporary replacement until the end of the campaign. United had managed eight wins, eight draws and five defeats in 21 Premier League games when the English manager took over.

Carrick proceeded to pick up wins against Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two games, completely transforming the team. Abandoning the 3-4-3 system in favour of a 4-2-3-1 formation certainly helped, and the Red Devils have now won seven and lost just one of their 10 games under the English manager.

Michael Carrick Managerial Stats

Source: Wikipedia.

Bruno Fernandes has played a key role in United’s resurgence in the past couple of months and he has now outlined the secret behind the transformation under Carrick.

What United have improved under Carrick

Speaking on the Men in Blazers podcast, Fernandes pointed out that United have improved their defending and finishing under Carrick. He said: “In terms of creating chances we were near the top when Ruben was here but we were not finishing that and then we were probably one of the best teams at not allowing teams in our box but when we did we would concede more goals.”

“We started to be more compact when we have to defend and understand we have moments when we have to suffer when we’re not in an excellent moment, let’s say. I wouldn’t say it was lucky but it was good for us that we had two big games straight away (when Carrick took over).”

“I think if you win against Man City and then have to face Arsenal who are top of the league and very difficult to play at the Emirates, you could think ‘it’s going to be fine, we’re playing great football now, we’re going to win’. We found a way of winning games and sometimes big clubs need to find a way of winning games whether it’s pretty or not.”

Fernandes has been in blistering form this season, and has already registered eight goals and 17 assists in 30 appearances across all competitions. The Portuguese is among only three players, alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Frank Lampard, to create 100 chances or more in three or more Premier League campaigns.

The club legend Bruno wants to play with

Fernandes was asked which club legend he would like to share the pitch with, and he responded: “It is going to sound strange but I’ve said it many times… Michael Carrick.”

“I trained with him when he was here under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and sometimes he was with us as a No 6 to bring the ball between the lines and he was great, as a No 10 you want that ball to come to you as fast as possible, he was incredible in timing the passes, control and pass.”

“Sometimes it’s not about having the ball for so long but about finding your team-mate as free as possible, for me as a No 10 that’s perfect.”

Carrick registered 24 goals and 35 assists in 464 appearances for United during his 12-year stay at Old Trafford, before retiring in 2018. By then, he had won five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three EFL Cups, six Community Shields, one Champions League, one Europa League and one FIFA Club World Cup trophy.

Final Thoughts

United are expected to appoint a full-time manager this summer, and Carrick has also emerged as an option for the job following his spectacular reign so far. It appears that the Englishman also has the backing of his players, so an impressive end to the campaign could make it impossible for INEOS to ignore him.

Featured image Ryan Pierse via Getty Images

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