Carrick has brought invaluable aspect back to United’s play, Bruno Fernandes epitomises it perfectly

Manchester United came back from a goal down to overcome Crystal Palace’s stubborn challenge 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday. The win means United are now up to third in the Premier League, an achievement few fans would have anticipated when Ruben Amorim was in charge. The Portuguese kept harping about the need to suffer, but not Michael Carrick. He has come in, tweaked certain things, and those changes have worked wonders, with the Red Devils winning six out of seven games since his arrival. United are comeback kings On Sunday, it was the visitors who took the lead as early as the fourth minute, and the hosts looked lethargic throughout first half as they went into the break a goal down. It has happened a fair few times now, wherein the 20-time English league champions have not started aggressively enough but have come back to claim all three points. Against the league leaders Arsenal, United came back from a goal down to win; against West Ham they came away with a point; and now, they team clipped the Eagles’ wings. A penalty from Bruno Fernandes and a thumping header from the in-form Benjamin Sesko proved to be enough for the three points. Bruno Fernandes inspired United in the second half Starting the Slovenian was the right idea, but once again, it was the club captain who stole the show in the second half. Much like the rest of the team, the Portugal international also looked laboured with his passing in the opening 45 minutes, but he looked a transformed player in the second 45. A brilliant pass led to the penalty and a red card for Maxence Lacroix, while his early cross for Sesko’s goal was a thing of beauty. This is why it is so difficult to keep the 31-year-old down. Even in games where he does not look at his best, he still comes up with the goods. With the skipper in stunning form, and a real No.9 at his disposal, there is no reason why Carrick cannot continue this winning run and ensure Champions League qualification. Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social 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