Michael Carrick singled out Manchester United teenager Shea Lacey for praise after the youngster played a starring role in last night's dramatic comeback win against Roma.
The Red Devils trailed 2-0 at the break and looked destined for another damaging defeat, but produced a spirited revival that culminated in Matheus Cunha's late matchwinning brace. Bruno Fernandes' twice-taken penalty had halved the deficit by the time Lacey was introduced at the expense of Amad Diallo with 15 minutes remaining.
Lacey's impact off the bench
The 19-year-old gave Roma's left-back a torrid time before producing a sublime assist from which Cunha struck the decisive goal with just four minutes remaining. Lacey has been used sparingly by Carrick in recent weeks after impressing during pre-season, but the United boss hinted he is ready to hand the fleet-footed winger more chances after last night's cameo.
He said: 'He's got great ability. That glint in his eyes and he plays with a bit of mischief. He was desperate to do well. I was just as happy seeing him defend as a right back! He gave everyone a lift coming on the pitch. I am so happy.'
Carrick on ending the winless run
On the importance of a first win since September, Carrick added: 'Proud of a lot of people, actually. Proud of the players. I think they deserve a lot of credit for pulling through that in a tough situation. And for the supporters, you know, to be there. I could feel they were desperate for us to give them something to get their teeth into.'
'Frustrating, disappointing, as we all were going in at half-time. But I spoke with the players about the second half, about what this place can do and moments, and one moment can really flip it. We came out second half really well, just stayed really positive through the whole second half.'
'To come through and see so many positives and had to keep going to get that at the end, I'm really pleased for an awful lot of people for that one. It's one win, so we're not getting too carried away with things, but it was an important one for us.'
