Carrick Must Start Andrey Santos for Man Utd vs Atletico Madrid

Manchester United have had a poor start to their season so far, and Michael Carrick needs to find a way to turn things around quickly.

The Red Devils have won just two games in all competitions this season, and were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-of-the-table Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford this past weekend, despite Spurs having ten men and holding a lead in second-half stoppage time.

Now, Carrick’s side have travelled to Spain to take on Atletico Madrid in their second Champions League game of the campaign, having already defeated Azerbaijani side Sabah 4-0. But they will be without some key stars due to injury.

The manager revealed in his pre-match press conference that Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw have not travelled with the squad due to knocks picked up in the game against Spurs, while Noussair Mazraoui, Patrick Dorgu, and Benjamin Sesko remain unavailable too.

It now seems as though some changes to the team will be enforced, and the expectation is that Diogo Dalot and Carlos Baleba will step into those positions in some straight swaps. But following a poor performance and a string of bad results, Carrick must be ruthless and make more changes.

Defensively, there aren’t many options for him to choose from currently, which means changes are going to be hard to come by. In attack, all of Marcus Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee and Shea Lacey are pushing for starts after being left on the bench against Spurs.

But in midfield there are options following the summer rebuild, and this is the chance for Carrick to show that he truly trusts his whole squad by making other changes, and that should include handing summer signing Andrey Santos a rare start in the heart of the pitch.

Santos Should Start Over Tielemans

United have tried to have a more ball-dominant approach to games this season, but a lack of athleticism has often seen them overrun in transition and in duels. Mainoo has done very well and is arguably the best-performing player this season, but Tielemans hasn’t been at his best since joining.

Carlos Baleba’s introduction against Tottenham brought some much-needed energy and athleticism to the side, which helped turn the tide in their favour. But with Mainoo unavailable, it would be easy for Carrick to keep Tielemans in the side with Baleba alongside him.

However, this is the perfect time to hand Andrey Santos his third start of the season in all competitions, in a game where they are likely to have less possession and have to be dominant in duels. The Brazilian is combative, has great quality on the ball, but is also someone who has the legs to be able to carry the ball, which will be helpful.

Carrick told everyone in his press conference that nobody is guaranteed a place in the team, and this is his chance to prove it. Santos has played just 175 minutes in all competitions so far this season, but Man Utd spent £50m to get him in. Now is the time to use him, and prove it was money well spent.