‘This can be a magical place’ – Carrick hails Man Utd fans after win over rivals Man City | OneFootball

Michael Carrick hailed the impact of the Manchester United fans and the efforts of defender Harry Maguire after his side’s win over rivals Manchester City.

United prevailed 2-0 over City in Carrick’s first game in charge thanks to goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu.

And the former Red Devils midfielder says his side fed off the energy of the crowd.

“I hope so and I think the players certainly fed off it,” Carrick answered when asked about the fans responding instantly to his approach to the game.

“The players were desperate to do well and I thought don’t be too desperate where it can cloud your judgement and decisions because you’re emotionally so invested in it.

“But I thought they got the balance so right and the supporters were incredible. I said yesterday, this can be a magical place and it does some funny things.

“Today, to get that feeling is exactly what we want. Hopefully it’s just the start and it’s something we need to build on.

“We’re not getting carried away massively but you’ve got to enjoy the feeling when you get it.”

Carrick was also full of praise for Maguire, who played the full 90 minutes having only recently returned from injury.

“I felt it was a game for experience and knowing what it feels like,” Carrick said. “It was a big ask for H (Maguire) and credit to him.

“You take it for granted, sometimes, what players do but for him to play today and come through it, it was a bit of a calculated gamble of how long he could play and could he get through it because he’s literally trained for two or three days so it just shows you what it means to him and I thought he was fantastic.

“Between him and Licha (Martinez), they were so solid at the back and gave us the foundation to build on.”

Now, Carrick says the challenge is to continue to replicate this level of performance.

“It needs to be a version of normal,” he said.

“We’re not going to have games with the emotion and the feeling that today brought, I think we all understand that, but there’s definitely levels of standards and expectations that we need to live up to from ourselves as much as anyone on the outside so I’m totally aware of that.

“Consistency is the key to any success and if you can find that then you’re on to a winner so that’s our challenge.”