Carrick even gained plaudits from former skippers Gary Neville and Roy Keane, who have led the suspicion and criticism over his appointment in recent days.
“Michael Carrick is in heaven,” said Neville on Sky Sports. “Manchester City cannot believe it. Massive figures – [Gianluigi] Donnarumma, Rodri, Haaland – shaking their head, and the biggest of all – Pep Guardiola – stunned. They have been run ragged.”
“It has been a perfect afternoon for United,” added Keane. “It is not as if they got lucky.”
Former United striker Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport: “The fans have been starved of that over the last few years. I know it’s only one performance but I think everyone could see how exciting that team can be.
“You hear everyone, especially us as ex-players, talk about the United DNA and that has just shown what it is. Work-rate off the ball, wingers getting back filling in and helping out the full-backs.
“That is the best performance I have seen from a Man Utd in a long, long time.”
United hit the woodwork twice, had three goals disallowed for offside and Donnarumma made four excellent saves. His reaction effort in the second half to deny Casemiro as he tried to turn home the rebound, after an initial stop from Amad Diallo, was so good the Brazilian was left biting his shirt in frustration.
There has been a lot of talk this week about the managers United should be trying to get in the summer and that Carrick should be viewed purely as a stop-gap.
Yet those opinions ignore the swell of emotion created by performances and results.
For the first time in what feels like a very long time, Old Trafford reverberated to the noise of fans responding positively to a team giving their best and delivering on a gameplan that, in the context of this 40-game season, was enough to get a victory in a very important game.
“The players certainly fed off it,” Carrick said. “They left the changing room unbelievably desperate to do well.
“I was almost thinking ‘don’t be too desperate’ because it can cloud your judgment and you make decisions because you’re emotionally so invested in it. But they got the balance right and the supporters were incredible.
“I said yesterday this can be a magical place. It does some funny things and to get that feeling was exactly what we want.
“It’s something we need to build on. We’re not getting carried away massively, but you’ve got to enjoy that feeling when you get it.”
