Michael Carrick‘s 100% win record at Old Trafford is still intact as a manager, as Manchester United stormed home to a 3-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa.
There would have been some worried faces among the home masses when Ross Barkley bagged Villa the equaliser, but the Red Devils players on the pitch never panicked, as his fifth straight home win as interim boss was eventually secured.
There were so many star performers on display from the rejuvenated home side, as they look to be easing into achieving a top-four position, come the end of the season.
How Man United secured Villa win
Under Ruben Amorim, United’s hopes of finishing inside the Champions League positions would have been deemed as slim, as United were always prone to a drop-off in performance, right when it mattered.
On the flip side, during the impressive Carrick interim reign to date, everyone seems to be singing off the same hymn sheet, as Bruno Fernandes picked up another handful of assists against Unai Emery’s visitors to take his tally for the season up to a record-breaking 16.
That means he now holds the accolade for the most assists registered in a single Premier League season for the Red Devils, which had long been held by David Beckham, as he finished the 3-1 win with a crazy six key passes accumulated.
Alongside Fernandes solidifying his position as a first-team must, Casemiro was on the scoresheet again as a trusty figure under Carrick, while Harry Maguire won a combined six tackles and duels to regularly keep Ollie Watkins at arm’s length.
It was an all-round top team performance that won them the three points, but not every single player picked by Carrick for the 3-1 win shone.
Indeed, there was one underperformer – in particular – who could now be dropped for some pivotal matches to come in March and April.
Man Utd star must be dropped after Villa
Thankfully, Carrick and Co haven’t dwelled too much on the dire nature of that 2-1 loss on the road at Newcastle United.
Bryan Mbeumo clearly hadn’t forgotten about his shot-shy display on Tyneside, though, as the ex-Brentford attacker followed up that dire showing with a similarly flat performance against the Villans on Sunday.
Mbeumo’s performance in numbers
Stat
Mbeumo
Minutes played
75
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
Touches
25
Accurate passes
12/15 (80%)
Total duels won
2/5
Resuming his duties as the lone centre-forward, after being chucked out to the wing at St James’ Park, Carrick would have hoped Mbeumo would get back on the scoresheet.
Instead, it was another wasteful display, as two shots ended up not troubling Emiliano Martinez, during an underwhelming 75-minute run-out.
He just didn’t get on the ball enough to leave a lasting mark, with only 25 touches of the ball coming his way, while the mightily impressive Fernandes accumulated 71 as United’s focal point up top.
Even Senne Lammens in the United goal would amass more, when finishing the match with a slightly superior 32.
To make matters worse, from just 15 minutes on the pitch, Benjamin Sesko would also find the back of the net as Mbeumo’s blistering replacement, despite only amassing a meagre five touches.
That’s now the fifth time Sesko has powered home a goal under Carrick’s transformative reign, with Mbeumo experiencing wildly different fortunes, in stark contrast.
The £71m summer signing has only managed to find the back of the net once across his last six Premier League outings, with the £66.4m invested into the red-hot Slovenian’s signature looking like a better use of cash.
It must surely be time now for Carrick to start Sesko ahead of the hot-and-cold Cameroonian, with more wins needing to be collected, like the emphatic victory over Emery’s men, to ensure the Red Devils clinch a fantastic top-four spot.
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