MANCHESTER: Manchester United gave Michael Carrick the dream start to his interim tenure as manager on Saturday, beating Manchester City 2-0 to deal a huge blow to their local rivals' Premier League title aspirations. Victory lifts Carrick's men into the top four, but their win will be celebrated just as much in north London as Arsenal close in on a first league title in 22 years. Harry Maguire also returned for his first start in two months and should have scored inside the first two minutes. But City's title challenge has faded fast in a four-game winless run in the Premier League since the turn of the year. City played a big part in their own downfall when the opening goal finally arrived 25 minutes from time.

Source: Indian Express January 17, 2026 15:03 UTC