MANCHESTER UNITED delivered another huge blow at the top of the table as they dumped league leaders Arsenal in a thriller.
Michael Carrick kicked off his interim reign with a derby triumph over Manchester City and followed it up with victory in the Gunners’ backyard.
Bryan Mbuemo, Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha grabbed the goals for the visitors as they ran out 3-2 winners to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive and kicking while blast the title race wide open.
It’s been quite the transformation for the Red Devils under the new interim boss after Ruben Amorim’s sacking.
Results and performances proved inconsistent under the old regime but fast forward a couple of weeks and it is all change at Old Trafford.
Fulham and Tottenham are next on the agenda for Carrick and Co and should they get wins in both home games it will be not only be four victories on the bounce in the Premier League but it will also strengthen their top four bid.
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Carrick revealed on Friday he has spoken to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since beating him to the United job and he is enjoying a similar managerial bounce.
Solskjaer’s first wins were against Cardiff and Huddersfield. Carrick has trumped him in his second spell in charge.
United were never likely to reach the same level of performance as they did at City but this was the fluffiest feather in Carrick’s cap in charge of United.
Arsenal were unbeaten at home all season and City were previously the only side that had led at the Emirates Stadium all season. United had not won at Arsenal in the league since December 2017.
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For much of the first half, naming an unchanged team looked to be a dubious call by Carrick. Before the hour mark, not starting a specialist striker and picking a full back on the wing had contributed to United’s first two goals.
And, for the second week running, calling upon Matheus Cunha from the bench came up trumps. This time, even more clinically.
Furious Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes’ return to the No.10 role is also a reminder of how often he can madden in that position.
Fernandes was not so much hit-and-miss as miss-and-miss in the first half. Almost every touch did not come off.
At first, he moaned at Lisandro Martinez and Mbeumo, sure signs he was struggling. Eventually, he gave up on rollocking his teammates and despaired at his own shortcomings.
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Fernandes was effective from central midfield under Ruben Amorim. You could play him in goal and he would still probably be United’s most creative player.
There is risk that goes with the reward. Fernandes tends to create something out of nothing and he teed up Patrick Dorgu for his goal of the season contender.
And, typically, Fernandes had a role in Cunha’s winning goal.
Day of the Dorg
Until he nearly broke David Raya’s goalframe, Dorgu seemed a likely candidate to come out of the United starting XI against Fulham at Old Trafford next week.
Ruben Amorim may be smiling ruefully back in Lisbon. Since he switched Dorgu to a more attack-minded role, the Denmark international has scored three goals in seven games and he could have a goal of the month award to crown his afternoon in north London, tempered only by injury.
Dorgu has played left-wing back, right-wing back, as a No.10 and on the left wing within the last month alone. Amorim described Dorgu as “anxious” not even two months ago.
That, and his spell out of the team, could be the making of a signing driven more by Jason Wilcox than Amorim.
