Man Utd win but Liverpool meltdown should end Michael Carrick’s hopes | OneFootball

Given the existing doubts over Michael Carrick, a performance like that against Liverpool should be fatal to his chances of becoming Manchester United manager.

That was Roy Keane before kick-off between Manchester United and Liverpool on Sunday. It ended up being a classic game of two halves that reduces Carrick’s chances of getting the gig full-time, even if the Red Devils managed to win the match and secure Champions League qualification.

That felt pretty unrealistic when Carrick took over as interim manager back in January, and on the face of it, he has done an outstanding job.

He has done exactly what was asked of him. The vibe has shifted dramatically under his watch and, for all of those reasons, he should be a contender for the job on a full-time basis.

However, the football hasn’t been great, has it?

But then the squad isn’t great, is it?

With everything so up in the air, it feels like United need to be pretty much perfect in their final four Premier League games – and that against Liverpool was definitely not perfect.

It was pretty damn good – for 45 minutes. Arne Slot’s men were blown away and it felt like Carrick’s side would go on and claim a massive victory.

They did win, but they came awfully close to dropping points from the most commanding of positions against their arch-rivals.

United lost complete control of the match in the space of 11 minutes at the start of the second half, though those backing Carrick will point out that two shocking individual errors – from half-time substitute Amad Diallo and the usually reliable Senne Lammens in goal – led to Liverpool’s goals.

Sure, you can argue the Diallo and Lammens mistakes were not down to the manager and his tactics, but the 11-minute meltdown will only deepen doubts over his long-term credentials.

There have always been doubts, mainly because of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s interim-to-permanent tenure, and plenty of tunes have changed – notably from Gary Neville, who said when Carrick was appointed that under no circumstances should he get the job, even if United win every single game under him.

Neville said that knowing Carrick would obviously not win every match, yet with Champions League football secured next season after ten wins, two draws and two defeats, the interim manager’s former team-mate is firmly on the fence.

Neville said before the game that he is now “not sure” and questioned which “world-class managers”, as he put it, are actually available.

Interesting, huh? Neville is certainly considering it now with Champions League qualification secured after a win against Liverpool of all teams.

If this result is as pivotal as Keane said pre-kick-off, Carrick has arguably his biggest success story, Kobbie Mainoo, to thank for scoring the winning goal with 13 minutes left on the clock.

We suspect Keane won’t be convinced given the manner of the victory and how unsustainable Carrick’s brand of football currently looks, and we are in the same boat.

There were doubts going into Sunday’s Premier League match and it’s important not to be blinded by the scoreline, because that was another game that could have gone the other way, just as was the case at home to Brentford on Monday evening.

The results have improved. The vibe is better. The table looks healthier. But we are now left with more questions over the sustainability of Carrickball and, ironically, Sunday’s performance has done some damage to Carrick’s hopes.