Manchester United thrashed Rosenborg 5-0 in their second pre-season friendly in Trondheim on Friday.
It was a far more cohesive display from the team compared to the Wrexham game, and Michael Carrick will be delighted with what he saw from some of his younger players.
The result was made even more impressive by the fact that the Norwegian side are already halfway through their league season, which meant they were far sharper than the Red Devils.
That did not matter in the end, as the Red Devils ran riot, especially in the second half.
Norway and their love for United
Norway is known for its large United fanbase and a lot of it stems from United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his exploits with the club.
Carrick obviously knows the former striker well, having played with him and worked alongside him during the Norwegian‘s stint as United boss.
The Englishman was one of his assistant managers, and the duo successfully steadied the United ship during their time at the club.
The 20-time English league champions finished third and second in back-to-back Premier League seasons, while also reaching the Europa League final during that period.
The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick coaching team worked wonders
Incidentally, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was once again linked with the United job after Ruben Amorim was shown the door; however, INEOS ultimately favoured Carrick.
There has been no bad blood between the pair due to that decision, with BBC Sport revealing that Carrick travelled to Kristiansund, which is a three-hour drive from Trondheim, to meet the Treble winner.
“Michael Carrick met up with his former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ahead of today’s game.
“Carrick was part of Solskjaer’s coaching team when the Norwegian was manager at Manchester United and the pair were both considered to take over from Ruben Amorim when the Portuguese was sacked in January.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Carrick meet in Norway
“As it turned out, Carrick got the nod. But the pair have remained friends and keep in touch and as Solskjaer was in Norway, and his family home is a three hour drive from Trondheim, it was natural they should see each other.”
Up next for United is a trip to Solna in Sweden to face Atletico Madrid at the Strawberry Arena on August 1.
This will be the first big test for this group of players, and Carrick can set a marker with a positive result against the La Liga giants.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
