Carrick Praises United Youngsters

Marcus Rashford and Memphis may have grabbed the headlines in Manchester United’s emphatic Europa League victory over Midtjylland but it was a strong all-round team performance, according to stand-in captain Michael Carrick.

Rashford, 18, scored twice on his senior Reds debut in Thursday’s 5-1 victory at Old Trafford, while Memphis capped a stunning Man-of-the-Match display with the final goal late on.

United manager Louis van Gaal praised Morgan Schneiderlin in his post-match press conference and Carrick, who filled in at centre-back to help cover a host of injuries in the squad, also singled out Guillermo Varela and Joe Riley.

“Individually there were an awful lot of good performances,” Carrick told MUTV. “It was probably not our first-choice back four so for the lads to come into that situation and play that well was great.

“It was Joe’s first start and he was terrific – he didn’t look out of place at all and did really well. Guillermo has played a few more games but he was the same and Marcus and Memphis were terrific for us too, so I’m delighted with the way the night went.”

It was a dream introduction to first-team football for Manchester-born product Rashford, who was thrust into the spotlight when Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up.

“It’s great,” Carrick continued. “You can’t put a price on that for the younger lads, especially Marcus. It’s incredible and brings back memories for me, and when I made my debut.

“It’s what football’s all about and what this club has been about for so long. For a local lad to do that and come through the system like that, I’m delighted for him.”

In arguably his best performance for the Reds so far, Memphis tormented Andre Romer down United’s left all night, with the Midtjylland defender picking up a second yellow card for hauling back the Dutch attacker just before his 90th-minute strike.

“That’s the standard Memphis has set now,” Carrick said. “We know the ability he’s got and we’re really pleased for him.

“He’s been training well and he’s had his ups and his downs. It’s not easy to come in as a young lad, with all the expectation and everything that comes with playing for this club, but hopefully this can kickstart him and give him a lot of confidence.

“I thought he was terrific all night and showed what he’s capable of, so now it’s up to him to do that consistently on a week-to-week basis and I’m sure he can do that.”