Michael Carrick says Man United knew exactly what Liverpool would do in first half

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SportFootballManchester United FCMichael Carrick saw his Manchester United side beat Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoonMichael Carrick admits Manchester United had anticipated what to expect from Liverpool during the first half of their win at Old Trafford.The Reds fell 2-0 down by the interval at Old Trafford and, despite a second-half fightback in which they drew level, ultimately lost to a Kobbie Mainoo strike 13 minutes from time on Sunday afternoon.With Liverpool missing Alexander Isak, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike, head coach Arne Slot opted to employ a box midfield in which Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz both acted as a number 10 with no recognised striker.And Carrick said: "We thought with the players available they would try and overload the midfield and it would be a big challenge for us.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page"We have got some dangerous forwards but were asking them to work off the ball."The way the supporters got behind us after the two goals, it is easy to get frustrated, and spirit and character shows when it is a bit of a challenging time."We have built that and there was a lot to be happy with and to be proud of."United have now guaranteed a return to the Champions League having missed out on Europe altogether this season.They were pegged back after Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo capitalised on United blunders, and Carrick added: "We made just two mistakes, and both Amad (Diallo) and Senne (Lammens) have been immense for us.

We bounced back and finished well, with players coming off the bench."(Champions League qualification) is a huge step for so many reasons, I am not underplaying that. We want more of that.

We expect more of that consistently and that is the message, let’s kick on."Carrick, who replaced the sacked Ruben Amorim earlier this year, will find out in the coming weeks whether he has done enough to keep his job as head coach at Old Trafford."We will have to wait and see," he said. "When we came in Champions League was a bit in the distance and we wanted to get back into Europe and to be there with three games to spare is a big achievement.