This marked only Man Utd's second victory in their 8 most recent matches across all competitions. However, for Carrick personally, defeating Man City in the Manchester derby was a perfect way to begin his new "reign" at Old Trafford.

The Man Utd players quickly adopted Carrick's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, a system that had brought him success at Middlesbrough. Despite only 32% possession, the home team dominated Man City in key attacking metrics, such as: expected goals (2,03 compared to 0,45) and shots on target (7 compared to 1).

Forward Mbeumo celebrates the opening goal in the match against Man City at Old Trafford, Manchester, England on 16/1. *Photo: Reuters*