Is the old Manchester United back? Dominating both offense and defense against Manchester City, but Carrick emphasizes that two major challenges remain to overcome.

Against all expectations, Carrick’s Manchester United staged a counterattack for the Red Devils' empire! Everything at Old Trafford felt different, showing a defiant spirit just like two decades ago. When the final whistle blew, fans were ecstatic, applauding Carrick and his team with approving smiles like Sir Alex Ferguson.

It seems that after Rúben Amorim was dismissed, Carrick just flipped a switch, and United reverted to their early 2000s state. The Theatre of Dreams finally featured a united team again, defending as if their lives depended on it, contesting every ball in midfield, and attacking swiftly and sharply, leaving Guardiola relieved with only a 0-2 loss—they could have been crushed 0-7!

United even toyed with City in midfield using their own possession style, making the "noisy neighbors" futile in their pressing as they couldn’t touch the ball. Guardiola was left biting his fingers in frustration on the sidelines, later admitting that United displayed something his team lacked.

Carrick is not one for empty talk; he called it the start of a dream, and that’s no exaggeration. As a player, Carrick was known for his calmness, reading the game and quietly controlling it. In his second stint as United’s manager, for his first match, he took a carefully planned risk by playing Maguire, injured with a hamstring and out for two months, for the full game, and gave Amad Diallo, previously sidelined under Amorim, his first Premier League start.

Additionally, Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 formation allowed Bruno Fernandes to return to a freer number 10 role, where he assisted the team’s opening goal. Overall, the scene at Old Trafford was impressive: freed from Amorim’s tactical constraints, United seemed to have rediscovered the club’s and team’s former identity.

In defense, Maguire and Lima reminded fans of Bruce and Pallister, Stam and Ronny Johnsen, Rio Ferdinand and Vidic, showing both coordination and fighting spirit. Data shows this was their first time partnering in a back four since September 2024. But as Carrick said, the center-backs formed the foundation for the 2-0 victory. Remarkably, this was only the team’s third clean sheet this season.

Maguire went down limping after a duel with Haaland but still managed to block Shelkey’s free kick, leading to a counterattack where Mbemo scored the opener. This aggressive approach defined United’s performance, and his partner Lima matched it fully.

Before the match, United legends Scholes and Nicky Butt criticized Lima, calling him a toddler who Haaland could carry around during the game. The "Argentine Butcher" responded by shutting down Haaland, who was substituted with ten minutes left. "I already told Scholes," Lima said after the match, "if he wants to say something to me, he can come to my house or anywhere—I don’t care."

Statistics show Haaland scored three goals in seven matches against Lima, but all came from a hat-trick in the 6-3 victory on October 6, 2022, which was the only time Haaland’s team defeated Lima’s side.

Offensively, Carrick and his coaching staff deployed a strikerless formation, using constant positional rotations to exploit spaces behind City’s midfield and defenders. Mbemo, positioned as a center forward, dropped back while Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo, Patrick Dogu, and even fullback Diogo Dalot moved dynamically to create openings.

However, it is too early to declare that Manchester United is fully back. Over the past decade, Old Trafford has witnessed many brief resurgences. Van Gaal, Mourinho, Solskjær, Ten Hag, and even Amorim have all had moments of glory beating City and Liverpool.

Yet, high-profile clashes have never been a reliable measure of United’s consistency. They often beat top clubs but struggle against mid-table teams, playing dull football and gradually collapsing as a system. With just three days to prepare, Carrick delivered a commendable performance.

When asked if this level could be maintained, Carrick replied: "That’s the challenge. This performance must become the norm. We can’t be as passionate and emotional every game like today, and I think everyone understands that, but the team definitely needs to reach certain standards and expectations. Consistency is key to any success."

Manchester United cannot settle for short-term fixes; they need a manager with authority, energy, vision, and tactical expertise to compete for Premier League and Champions League titles. After proving their ability to beat any opponent by counterattacking City, Carrick’s team must maintain the same attacking efficiency against tightly packed defenses of lower-ranked teams; the second challenge is how they rebound after setbacks or losses, which is crucial to testing whether United have truly become strong.