Man United vs Man City: Don't get carried away — Gary Neville warns Red Devils after Derby win

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has called for caution after the Red Devils battered Manchester City in Michael Carrick’s first game back in the dugout as interim manager, warning that the club had experienced other false dawns.

With Old Trafford loud, packed and behind the team, Manchester United kicked into top gear from when Anthony Taylor started proceedings with the whistle at kickoff and never let up till the game ended.

Goals from Bryan Mbuemo and Patrick Dorgu in the second half helped the Red Devils to a 2-0 victory. However, the scoreline flatters Pep Guardiola's side with Manchester United finding the back of the net on three other occasions, which were adjudged offside. Additionally, the xG difference from the game is the biggest Pep Guardiola side has ever suffered, according to xGPhilosophy.

The result lifted United up the Premier League table and injected optimism around Carrick’s appointment, but voices like Gary Neville’s quickly cautioned that one result; however impressive, does not guarantee a sustained resurgence.

“Absolutely incredible day,” he said, per the BBC. “The goals help, the result helps, but my goodness was that performance needed. Michael Carrick has played in great United teams; he knows what it looks like.

“To put that into a team in three days – this is not a time to get carried away because United have had so many false starts. But it is massively encouraging, to say the least.”

United’s managerial instability since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 has been a persistent theme, with a succession of high-profile appointments starting with David Moyes (2013–14), who lasted 10 months before being sacked with the team struggling; followed by Louis van Gaal (2014–16), who delivered an FA Cup in 2016 but ultimately failed to build momentum; and José Mourinho (2016–18), who won the EFL Cup, UEFA Europa League and Community Shield in 2017 but left amid dressing-room tension and inconsistency. 

Subsequent managers such as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (2018–21) saw early promise with attacking football and top-four finishes yet no trophies, and Erik ten Hag (2022–24) produced a Carabao Cup and FA Cup double across seasons but was eventually dismissed as results faltered.

Carrick’s appointment, following Amorim’s sacking on January 5th amid poor form and fracturing relations with the club’s hierarchy, has restarted the cycle, and the derby victory provides an excellent platform to build upon,  but United fans and pundits alike have seen similar beginnings fade too quickly before.