Carrick's 'key message' he gave to Man Utd players before Everton win

Michael Carrick tells of key message he gave to the Manchester United players which helped them in the 1-0 win over Everton.

Benjamin Sesko came off the bench again to hit the winning goal following a move that stretched the length of the pitch.

The Slovenia strikerhas yet to start in the interim head coach’s six matches in charge but has now scored two winners and snatched a late equaliser to maintain Carrick’s unbeaten start.

He was made to wait until just before the hour mark to replace Amad Diallo but made an impact within 13 minutes by getting on the end of a direct counter-attack in a rare moment of incisiveness from the visitors.

It was enough to secure a fifth win in six matches and move United into fourth, only three points behind Aston Villa.

And afterwards, Carrick admitted it was not United's best performance but he said that "trust" was key and it was what they had talked about ahead of the match.

"It was a tough game which didn't come easy or straightforward and the boys had to put in a lot to win," he said.

"We spoke before the game that they had to trust in each other, the group, the belief we have in each other and we had to rely on that.

"The football was okay at times, we could have been better but actually there was a lot of foundations to build on if you can come here, keep a clean sheet and defend like we have done at times.

"And then create that moment of brilliance, the boys are capable of doing that so I am really delighted with it because it was a tough game and to come and win was a big result for us."

Sesko has now scored six in his last seven appearances, making it difficult for Carrick to ignore his contribution to the team’s resurgence, which has only strengthened the head coach’s own credentials after he replaced Ruben Amorim in January.

The goal owed plenty to Matheus Cunha’s searching pass from deep in his own half to isolate Bryan Mbeumo one-on-one with Michael Keane, the forward having the pace to go past the centre-back and square for Sesko to emphatically convert.