Michael Carrick believes expectations at Manchester United have shifted since his return to Old Trafford, following a derby victory in January. Carrick, who faces Manchester City for the second time as manager on Sunday, led United back into the Champions League after they finished 15th in the Premier League a year prior.
Last season, United secured third place, one position behind their neighbours. Carrick, who earned the manager's job after beating Pep Guardiola’s City in his initial game back, stated, “I think going into the Champions League game and talking about the expectation there, I think it's a really good thing that it's shifted in a way, and all of a sudden there's different things asked of us now to maybe what was a few months ago, and we're in the Champions League.” He added that this shows the steps made and that the club needs to be in the latter stages of the competition.
Despite his first derby win, Carrick cautioned against assuming a repeat performance when they meet Enzo Maresca’s City at Old Trafford. He explained, “I think there's no way we're assuming we won last year, we'll do the same things and everything will be the same.”
The fitness of Luke Shaw for Sunday's match is currently being assessed after he sat out Thursday’s 4-0 Champions League victory against Sabah. Carrick noted, “We'll have to see. We just kind of looked after him a little bit. He wasn't quite ready for it 100 percent, so we didn't risk it.”