Manchester United's Pre-Season Win: Carrick's New Tactics Shine
Manchester United hit five in Trondheim, but the scoreline only tells half the story. This was their first win of pre-season, a 5-0 dismantling of Rosenborg, and the clearest sign yet that Michael Carrick’s United are starting to look different – on purpose.
Six days after losing to Wrexham, the response was ruthless. The result mattered a little. The performance mattered a lot.
A new face to ‘Carrick-ball’
When Carrick first stepped in last season, United became a transition machine. They lived off the break. Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu tore into space, Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha threaded the passes, and United surged from back to front like a counter-attacking throwback.
The numbers backed it up. From Carrick’s first game – that 2-0 win over Manchester City – to the end of the campaign, United ranked third in fast breaks per game. They were joint top for goals from fast breaks per 90 and second for expected goals from those situations. They were devastating when the pitch opened up.
On the ball, it was another story. Thirteenth in possession share. Eleventh in average possession duration. Old problems resurfaced: give them a low block and a set defence and they ran out of ideas, just as they have so often since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped away.
Trondheim hinted at a shift.
Rosenborg, 13 games into their league season and far sharper physically, should have been able to boss the tempo and pin United back. Instead, a United side without Fernandes or Cunha looked composed, patient, and oddly at ease in longer spells of possession.
Joshua Zirkzee was central to that. United’s No 11 turned into a magnet for the ball, taking it in, protecting it, and giving his team a platform to build from. At times Rosenborg were simply pulled apart, their shape stretched and bent by United’s willingness to circulate the ball rather than just wait to pounce.
The counter remained in the toolbox. The second and fourth goals came straight from that familiar Carrick blueprint, with United springing forward once the ball turned over. But the balance has shifted. This looked like a coach using his new status as permanent manager to evolve his identity, not just lean on what worked in an emergency.
It also made the signing of Youri Tielemans make more sense. If Carrick wants a side that can control games as well as tear through them, the Belgian’s passing range suddenly feels less like a luxury and more like a necessity.
Zirkzee dazzles – but where does he fit?
On the night, there was no debate about the standout performer. Zirkzee walked away as the unofficial man of the match and, for once, there could be no argument.
Since his 2024 arrival, he has been a puzzle that Old Trafford hasn’t quite solved. Too loose and languid to be a traditional No 9, not sharp enough to knock Fernandes out of the No 10 role. Flashes of technique, yes, occasionally reminiscent of Dimitar Berbatov, but rarely the full package.
In Norway, he finally put it all together.
He dropped off the front line, soaked up passes and spun into space on the half-turn. He knitted moves together, brought runners into play, and gave United something they have often lacked: a focal point who can both link and threaten.
The numbers from his hour on the pitch were simple enough. Two goals involved. One assist, one finish. But the manner of that goal will linger.
A slick give-and-go with substitute Harry Amass opened the door. Then came the footwork – tight, deceptive, ruthless. Two defenders beaten, then the same trick to wrong-foot the Rosenborg goalkeeper, and finally a calm slide into an empty net. It was a solo effort that drew a sharp intake of breath even in a friendly.
Moments like that fuel demands. Some supporters will come away from Trondheim insisting Zirkzee must play a bigger role next season. On this evidence, the temptation is obvious.
Yet the doubts haven’t disappeared. The pace of the game suited him. The spaces were generous, the intensity forgiving. None of that answers the question that has followed him since he arrived: can he cope with the relentlessness of English football?
Benjamin Sesko still looks better equipped to lead the line in the Premier League. What Zirkzee showed here may, in the end, be more of a preview of how Carrick intends to use Sesko – dropping in, linking play, acting as a technical fulcrum – once the Slovenian is ready to return.
For Zirkzee, this was a reminder of what he can be. Whether it changes his place in the pecking order is another matter.
Carrington’s kids take centre stage
If the tactical tweaks were one story, the academy was the other. Carrington’s fingerprints were all over this win.
Shea Lacey, starting as the No 10, grew steadily into the game. United fans have seen glimpses of the 19-year-old before – he nearly stole the headlines with a long-range effort in that 2-2 draw with Burnley – but this was his most prominent role yet.
He looked like he belonged. His movement between the lines was intelligent, his touches clean, and when the first chance came, his finish for the opener was composed. United fans voted him player of the match, a nod to how assured he looked in a role that carries real weight at this club.
The noise around Lacey has quietened over the last year. Once he was the poster boy of the youth ranks, the next big thing. Trondheim suggested the talent is still very much there, waiting for the right opportunities to surface. There is a first-team player in him if his path is managed properly.
From the bench, Harry Amass made his own case. The full-back’s progress stalled late last season after an impressive loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday was interrupted by injury, but he wasted no time reminding everyone why he is so highly regarded.
His goal showcased a sharp instinct for arriving in dangerous areas from deep, timing his run to perfection. He backed that up with solid work down the left, defending with composure and using the ball sensibly. United still want another left-back, but nights like this raise an obvious question: should Amass be trusted as Luke Shaw’s long-term deputy rather than just another name on the loan carousel?
Jacob Devaney and Ethan Williams also had their moments, each finding the net and securing memories they will carry for the rest of their careers. Whatever happens next, they can always point back to Trondheim and say: I scored for Manchester United.
The most intriguing young performance, though, came from Jaydan Kamason.
The 19-year-old right-back was not flawless. Off the ball, he drifted out of position at times and will know he has work to do on the defensive side. With the ball, he lit the game up. His two assists came from low, whipped crosses that showed vision and precision, the sort of delivery you normally expect from a winger, not a full-back.
His close control and footwork backed that up. He played with the swagger of a wide attacker, not a cautious defender, and Carrick’s decision to leave him on longer than most of the other youngsters felt telling. Trust is hard-earned in pre-season. Kamason looked like he had it.
The JJ Gabriel wait
One name dominated the build-up without ever stepping onto the pitch.
JJ Gabriel, just 15, has become the latest prodigy to capture imaginations at United. His inclusion in the travelling squad sent a ripple of excitement through the fanbase. People wanted a glimpse. A touch, a run, a hint of what the fuss is about.
They got nothing. Gabriel stayed on the bench, fluorescent bib on, watching, waiting.
Does that mean expectations should be reined in? Not automatically. Carrick had already suggested before the game that minutes would come for the teenager during the friendlies, and United have seen too many young careers skewed by impatience to throw him in just to satisfy curiosity.
For now, Gabriel remains an idea rather than a reality, a name on a teamsheet rather than a presence on the pitch. Trondheim belonged to other youngsters, to Zirkzee’s artistry, to a manager quietly reshaping his team’s identity.
If this is what United’s “new” Carrick-ball looks like in July, what will it resemble when the real games start?
