Man Utd star is becoming their new Mainoo

Where would Manchester United be had they not sacked Ruben Amorim? Well, unlikely in the Champions League next season.

The job that Michael Carrick has done at Old Trafford has been nothing short of remarkable. Since taking charge of his first match in game week 22, they have played 14 matches and sit top of the Premier League form table in that time.

It’s an incredible turnaround, one that was sealed on Sunday with qualification for the Champions League next term, defeating Liverpool 3-2 in pretty frantic fashion.

During his reign so far, Carrick has largely avoided a dramatic and hectic game of football. Yet, their win over the Merseysiders this weekend was certainly chaotic.

At the centre of the performance was Kobbie Mainoo once again.

Kobbie Mainoo delivers for Manchester United yet again

We’ll be honest, we’re still scratching our heads at why on earth the aforementioned Amorim decided to cast Mainoo aside and regularly bench him.

With the Portuguese at the helm, the young midfielder did not start a single Premier League game this season. Yet, since Carrick’s arrival, the Englishman has started every single match besides the 2-1 defeat to Leeds, a clash he missed with injury.

During that time, he has played the full 90 minutes on 12 occasions out of the 13 matches he’s started from the off. The turnaround in not just form but general minutes has been exceptional.

In the space of four months, Mainoo is now surely a dead certainty to make Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad. He’s also showcased why he’s one of the first names on the team sheet at United. The announcement of a new five-year deal last Thursday, therefore, was hardly a surprise.

Under Amorim, it looked like he was going to leave. Carrick, however, has revived his career and with it, has revived Manchester United.

Mainoo has been sublime of late and was a class apart again against Liverpool, scoring the winning goal. The ball broke on the edge of the penalty box and the 21-year-old was the quickest to react.

He got ahead of his man and then slid the ball past Freddie Woodman. It was an exquisite finish, one deserving of winning a game in which United had surrendered a two-goal lead.

Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko had sent the hosts into a 2-0 lead at half-time but a dismal second half period saw Liverpool fight back through Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo.

Yet, Mainoo came up trumps once again to win the game. He’s been brilliant, as has another young Englishman who’s fast becoming their next great hope.

Man United’s new Mainoo shines against Liverpool

This was one of the most topsy-turvy performances you will get.

In attack, United were sublime, particularly in the first half. Cunha, in particular, ran a mock down the left-hand side. Liverpool’s backline was no match for the bully that is Benjamin Sesko.

Yet, in the second half, it all changed. Two gifts, first from Amad and then Senne Lammens, who both gave the ball away, subsequently led to two Liverpool goals.

Despite that, it was a solid defensive performance. You cannot account for mistakes like those. Mistakes that a young Ayden Heaven never looked like making.

£1m this kid cost. £1m. Prised away from Arsenal in February 2025, nobody really batted an eyelid when he made the transfer. After all, the Gunners already had William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes at the back.

A product of the Hale End academy, it must sting a bit for Arsenal that Heaven is now such an important part of United’s future.

Like Mainoo, the 19-year-old has had to remain patient for opportunities this campaign but he’s now delivering big performances for Carrick from the centre of defence.

His emergence this term has been a little bit like Marcus Rashford’s a number of years ago. Thrown into the deep amidst a bucket load of injuries, Heaven would either sink or swim. He’s certainly been swimming.

He started the first 11 games of the Carrick era on the bench but with Lisandro Martinez suspended and Matthijs de Ligt missing through injury, the young centre-back has stood up when it matters.

He kept a brilliant clean sheet against Chelsea, kept things tidy in the 2-1 win over Brentford and perhaps saved one of his finest performances in a United shirt for Liverpool.

In such a big game, the teenager was totally unfazed. He won all six of his duels, completed 87% of his passes and made four recoveries. He didn’t get dribbled past once either.

Like Mainoo, he’s got this sense of composure, this sense that he belongs at the top level. Another youngster making waves under Carrick, his rise to first-team prominence in recent weeks certainly bears similarities to the way in which the United midfielder has stood up in recent weeks.

Even with Martinez due to return soon, you sense that Heaven must retain his partnership with Harry Maguire in the remaining weeks of the season. He totally deserves it.