Chelsea vs Manchester United: Injured Michael Carrick has been crucial to United's recent run... and the figures show it
In the last five matches Carrick has been one of United's best players
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Your support makes all the difference.When Michael Carrick limped off last Sunday, it seemed, momentarily at least, as if Manchester City might have a way back into the game.
His absence forced Wayne Rooney into midfield and allowed the visitors to score a late consolation. Fortunately for Manchester United supporters, their team had already built a comfortable lead and taken the fight out of their opponents.
But why did an assured and confident United display suddenly look a little shaky once Carrick came off? Since his return from injury, the midfielder has played in each of United’s last five Premier League games and Louis van Gaal’s side have won them all. Is he actually so integral to United’s recent surge? Will they miss his presence in this weekend’s crucial clash against Chelsea?
We took a look at his statistics from those last five games in order to find out.
Passing
When people talk about Carrick, they often start by praising his passing and how he keeps a team ‘ticking over’ with simple build-up play. As one columnist put it this week, it’s often as if he is “playing in a dinner jacket”.
It cannot be denied that Carrick completes a lot of passes. He’s found a red shirt 89 per cent of the time since returning from injury and regularly finds himself at the top of the pass completion charts come the final whistle.
Although once having a reputation as something of a ‘crab’, in that all his balls would be played sideways, he’s recently been much more progressive. 68.6 per cent of his passes over the last five games have been sent forward. That is marginally more than a player many rate as one of this season’s best performers and who Carrick will come up against this weekend. Cesc Fàbregas has, over the same period, passed in the direction of the opposition’s goal 67.6 per cent of the time.
However, considering how forward-thinking his passing has been, the number of chances Carrick has created can be said to be slightly disappointing. The midfielder has only made three key passes over the course of the five games, one of them assisting Marouane Fellaini’s opener against Tottenham.
Defending
This is where the statistics don’t shine a kind light on Carrick. He has won only one of his five attempted tackles and, despite making a decent 11 interceptions, he should be looking to improve the defensive side of his game.
Although he received plenty of plaudits after the derby win, he was clearly at fault for David Silva’s opening goal as he failed to track the Spaniard’s run.
It wasn’t the first time that he has made a major error in an important game and, at that stage of the match, the visitors looked like they might build on their lead. Carrick can be thankful that Ashley Young’s equaliser just six minutes later brought his side back into the match.
Shooting
He has never been known as a prolific, reliable or even occasional scorer of goals, with a total of 17 during his nine years at Old Trafford, but Carrick’s shooting record over the last five matches is surprisingly good. He has made three attempts on goal, all of which have been on target, and scored one against his old club Tottenham.
It’s far from his main role at United, but with some members of the side’s star-studded forward line struggling for form, Van Gaal will be pleased that Carrick and his fellow midfielders are picking up the slack.
2014/15 Record
If we expand our range a little and take a look at how Manchester United have performed with Carrick in the side across the whole season, we get a better picture of how he influences their form.
The ‘midfield metronome’ missed his side’s opening nine games, of which they only won three. He returned to the team just in time for the 1-0 away defeat to City, but following that disappointing display, United rallied and won their next six games.
Carrick was present over the New Year period, when United’s league form slumped and Van Gaal faced serious questions about his tenure. He was forced out through injury once more, this time by rupturing a calf muscle, but the team’s form picked up nevertheless as Rooney returned to his natural role up front.
Overall, Carrick has been present in 13 of United’s 19 league victories this season, 3 of their 8 draws and 2 of their 5 defeats. Although his contributions can be exaggerated and his flaws are sometimes glossed over, he has proven that he fits into Van Gaal’s system, offering a steady and controlled presence on which devastating attacks can be built.
With no direct replacement in the squad, it seems like his teammates will miss him at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
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