Carrick says moment he decided on tactical shift for Man Utd favoured by Amorim

Michael Carrick says when he decided on shifting to a tactical formation used by Ruben Amorim for Manchester United to see out the Brentford clash.

"Five minutes before half-time, five, six minutes before half-time, before the second goal," said Carrick, over when he made up his mind to change to a back five.

United were winning 1-0, Brentford were creating chances at will, and the manager had seen enough.

They went into the break with a two goal lead and United went on to win 2-1 to claim three more key points in the chase for the Champions League.

It was an interesting insight into the flexibility in the approach from Carrick and his coaching team.

United started with the directness that has defined Carrick's tenure. Casemiro broke the deadlock inside 11 minutes from a Maguire delivery, and Benjamin Sesko doubled the advantage just before the break — finishing off a counter-attack started by Amad, with Fernandes providing the assist that moved him to 19 for the season.

But despite the two-goal cushion United had been leaking chances throughout.

Senne Lammens produced a series of outstanding saves to keep the scoreline intact and Carrick new he had to make a change.

"It was quite an open game at times," he said afterwards. "We started fantastically well. They came into the game a little bit so we tweaked things second half."

Noussair Mazraoui replaced Amad at half-time, Diogo Dalot pushed up to right wing-back and United shifted from their familiar 4-2-3-1 into a 3-5-2 — five at the back.

The spaces Brentford had been exploiting were reduced although they continued to create chances.

Carrick said of the change: "It was purely tactical. Second half, we came out and had control, but still went forward and looked dangerous. It's what the game needed at that time. In the end it's gone to plan and we've won the game."

It was a willingness to change system that was so very different to his predecessor.

The irony was not lost on observers that he changed to Amorim's preferred system. But where Amorim's system felt rigid and imposed regardless of circumstances, Carrick's switch was reactive and driven by what the game demanded.

Brentford were restricted to fewer chances and the dangerous spaces behind United's fullbacks largely disappeared. The game was better managed although Brentford continued to create chances before Mathias Jensen's stunning late long-ranger.

"Towards the end they had a few opportunities but I thought the spirit, effort and togetherness of the players was fantastic," Carrick said. "It's the time of year when it's a result business and we needed to take points."

United stay third, two points from mathematically securing Champions League football. Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday is next — a game that could seal it in front of the home crowd.

The tactical switch against Brentford was a small moment in the context of the season. But it said something important about the manager making those decisions. Carrick saw the problem, identified the solution and acted before the damage was done — five minutes before half-time, before his side had even scored their second goal.

That is what good managers do. And it is increasingly hard to argue that United have not found one.