Carrick: Berba's Brillant

Michael Carrick heaped praise on United forward Dimitar Berbatov after the Reds’ 2-0 win over Blackburn at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Bulgarian scored a spectacular opener and had earlier looked most likely to break the deadlock.

“It was a tremendous volley,” Carrick said of his strike. “That’s what he’s all about. We’ve seen him do it before and hopefully we’ll see it many more times.

“He oozes quality in the final third and he perhaps could have had one or two more today.”

Berbatov’s goal came after 55 frustrating minutes for the Reds. Despite the lion’s share of possession, United had found it difficult to slice open the Blackburn back four.

“At times it was frustrating,” Carrick admitted on MUTV. “But we’ve been in that situation many times before. The manager told us to be patient and he pointed out that that’s where our experience comes in.

“We always believe that if we create chances we’ll score. Thankfully Berba did that with a terrific finish and then Wayne [Rooney] sealed it with the second goal.”

Berbatov wasn’t the only man who caught Carrick’s eye on Saturday.

“I thought Jonny Evans and Wes Brown were exceptional at the back,” he said. “It’s always important to keep a clean sheet. We don’t want to leak goals and today we were very focused on defending. I thought we did well against Blackburn’s long-ball threat.”