Carrick Savours 3 Points

Michael Carrick has praised a job well done after United overcame the tricky obstacle of Otelul Galati in the UEFA Champions League.

The Reds midfielder was delighted to pick up three points and has challenged his team-mates to build on Tuesday’s 2-0 victory during the three remaining Group C fixtures.

“It was very bitty. It was good at times and not so good at others,” Carrick reflected. “We expected a tough game though. People expected us to come here and score a lot of goals and for it to be an easy night but we knew it was going to be tough.

“We had to be patient and in the end we came through. We are delighted with the three points. It’s a much-needed win and it’s been a long time coming. We’re up and running now and hopefully we can keep the momentum up.”

Carrick was a standout performer and man of the match contender at the National Stadium, operating alongside Anderson in middle of the park. The England international was also forced to fill in at centre-half briefly following Nemanja Vidic’s straight red card, a decision he felt was harsh.

“It was a dubious sending off at best, really, so we are disappointed with that. It was all hands to the pump for a few minutes and luckily I got a block in front of a guy who had a decent shot at goal.

“I thought I might have played at centre-half for a bit longer, but the boss changed it and after that we were pretty comfortable and managed to get the second goal."

Attention now turns to Sunday’s Manchester derby and the culmination of a busy week for United and Carrick, following last weekend’s draw with Liverpool and the long midweek trip to Romania. “It’s a massive game, obviously. It’s been a tough week but the first two games have gone okay and hopefully we can finish it off well.”