Mar 02, 2026
3 min read
Man Utd dropped to third in the Premier League after beating 10-man Crystal Palace 2-1 thanks to a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a Benjamin Seskos header as Michael Carrick extended his unbeaten run to seven games and cemented his position for the job.
Man Ut make big move under Michael Carrick after Gary Neville claimed he was in the 'box seat' for the permanent job
Man Utd moved up to third place in the Premier League after coming from behind to beat 10-man Crystal Palace 2-1 thanks to a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a Benjamin Sesko header, while Michael Carrick extended his unbeaten run to seven games and strengthened his chances of landing a full-time job
Sunday 1 May 2026 8:19 PM, UK
Gary Neville's pre-match claim that Michael Carrick was in the box for a Manchester United assignment appeared to backfire as Maxence Lacroix headed Crystal Palace in front after four minutes at Old Trafford.
However, United beat 10-man Palace 2-1 to move into third place in the Premier League for the first time since May 2023, with Carrick extending his unbeaten run to seven with a sixth win since replacing Ruben Amorim.
The Sky Sports pundit has warned his former team-mate of the risks Palace face as Manchester United look to take advantage of Aston Villa's surprise slip-up against Wolves to boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
"Everyone was shocked by their performance," Neville said in front of Manchester United. "Michael would never have imagined this in his wildest dreams.
"It has to continue until the end of the season. Today was a big part of it, and these games can push you.
"Michael is in the box seat for work. Looking at what is happening now, I think they are in the Champions League."
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As Neville's warning seemed to fall on deaf ears, United played their worst half-time of football under Carrick.
However, the players showed their composure before the break, which was not always the case under the previous head coach.They could have equalized had Casemiro started unmarked at the back post.
As the second half resumed, Carrick's team received a red card from Lacroix for interference in the game via VAR.
Bruno Fernandes scored from the ensuing penalty kick to set up Benjamin Sesko's winner as United avoided defeat by coming behind Carrick for the third time.
"It was a test for us to go a goal down at half-time," Carrick told Sky Sports."New for us. We didn't start the game very well, credit to Palace. We grew into the game as the half went on. In the second half we grew again.
"Getting an early goal at home against a team that is tough to break down was a big thing to overcome. It was a big step for us. I was really pleased with the way the guys approached it and responded."
Neville's latest comments make a lot of sense given his stance on Carrick's arrival.He said in January that Carrick should not be considered for the job next season "even if he wins every game".
Even though Carrick has not met those lofty standards, he has the joint-best points return after nine Premier League games of any manager in the competition's history, including his caretaker spell in 2021 (W1, D1).
Only Ange Postecoglou's 23 points in nine games at the start of his Spurs tenure matched Carrick.He is only three games away from tying Maurizio Sarri's record for the longest unbeaten start.
A good start is no guarantee of long-term success, just look at how things ended for Postecoglou at Spurs, but it's no wonder the results caught Neville off guard.United had won just once in seven games before Carrick.
"I was amazed at how Michael [Carrick] took them to what we saw over the Christmas period," Neville said on Sunday.
"The performance levels against Arsenal and City were incredible. I didn't expect that."
There was no doubt that the decline was due to those big wins over the Premier League titles, as the United States became less effective against the teams they were expected to dominate.
However, Carrick continued to offer in-game solutions and had an answer for every problem.He seems to be training with the same composure he played with and that is rubbing off on the team.
The United boss could be seen running down the tunnel when the whistle blew after a disappointing first half.Asked if he really thought about change at the time, he said with a laugh, "There's always something else."
"It was just a few tweaks to the form and very few ideas," he said.“There were some things we tried early on that we wanted to tweak a little bit, but it wasn't huge and I don't take a lot of credit for that.
"The boys showed they were improving throughout the first half. In games you have to find a way sometimes. We wanted to make a few more runs, be a bit more aggressive in attacking their backline and we ended up getting a penalty for that."
"It's more about how we have to act. It goes in our favor [in the games] and now I'm waiting. What do we do? The guys behaved better than ever."
This situation is unthinkable in recent times and it is becoming increasingly difficult to see a world where Carrick does not find regular work.Carrick made it easy to give something back to Old Trafford.
"It's good," said Carrick about the gifts that made his name.
"There are many players who should be proud of themselves. I am certainly not the only one."
Carrick is lower than his predecessor but the results add to the noise in his future.There will be questions about him after every game for the rest of the season.It cannot be avoided.
United must bide their time.It's a path they've trodden before, not so long ago.Given how quickly situations can change with a few results and the number of lies United have suffered, it would be foolish to rush.
However, if Neville is anything to go by, even the biggest skeptics will have to reconsider their opinion of Carrick.
