Carrick was deprived of Benjamin Sesco and Casemiro, replaced by Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee, and United looked lacking in creativity without their star duo. This is an issue that needs to be addressed over the summer and United are set to return to the Champions League.
Sunderland created some promising chances, but United’s back line stood resolute. It appears the plan was for United to try and catch the Black Cats during the break.
This approach has proven to be highly effective against elite teams such as Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, but they also repeatedly employ it against opponents they really need to beat.
Saturday proved another example and this approach could come back to haunt the Red Devils if Carrick commits his future in the summer.
One supporter raged on social media: “He was sitting behind the ball defending for 90 minutes against Sunderland and was looking for a counter-attack. Carrick, this is hilarious.”
“I think maybe Carrick and the players know he won’t get the job next season,” another admitted. Meanwhile, a third shared: “Carrick football against a team that knows how to sit still…”
He added: “Is this Michael Carrick, the man some fans want to hand over his Manchester United job for good? Did he have zero shots on target against newly promoted Sunderland? Amorim was even better here!”
United secured their return to the Champions League with last weekend’s win over Liverpool and are now on track to finish in the Premier League.
Carrick’s side host Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Saturday before finishing the season away to Brighton on the final day of the season.
