Michael Carrick has acknowledged that Manchester United are now “in a good position” after they took another step closer to Champions League qualification with a 2-1 victory over Brentford at Old Trafford on Monday evening.
Match Summary
Goals from Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko lifted third-placed United 11 points clear of sixth place in the Premier League standings, with only four matches remaining in the season. The win means United could secure their return to Europe’s elite competition when they host rivals Liverpool on Sunday, another team vying for a top-four finish.
Carrick, serving as United’s interim manager, told Sky Sports: “It’s another win. We’ve obviously got an important game coming up with the weekend, so we can look forward to that. It’s a big game for different reasons but we’ve put ourselves in a good position with a good win tonight.”
Second-Half Fightback
Brentford mounted a spirited response after the interval and pulled a goal back late on through Mathias Jensen, but United held on to secure all three points. Reflecting on the performance, Carrick said: “We could have scored more but it’s the time of year when it’s a result business. We needed to take the points and we’ve had a fantastic two games on the back of the Leeds defeat.”
Brentford manager Keith Andrews felt his side deserved more from the contest. The Irishman commented: “I’m pleased with the performance. They started the game better than we did, took the lead. We were a little bit on the back foot in the first 10 minutes or so but, after that, we reacted brilliantly to the state of the game. I thought we were outstanding for large parts of the game but unfortunately we couldn’t take the opportunities that we created.”
