Carrick's case for the defence
Michael Carrick believes defence could turn out to be the best form
of attack for Manchester United.
The platform for their current five-match winning streak has been
provided by strong defensive solidity and Sunday's shutout of
Chelsea at Old Trafford completed a run of five successive clean
sheets.
Manchester City's Geovanni is the last person to score against
United, with a deflected effort which shot past Edwin van der Sar
eight and a half hours of match time ago.
It represents United's best run for over two years, and has seen
them rise from second bottom prior to the home win over Tottenham
Hotspur to second from the top.
start hitting
And with an array of attacking talent including Wayne Rooney, Louis
Saha, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo to call on, United do not
expect it to be too long before they start hitting the net with
greater regularity than they are at present.
However, Carrick thinks it is what happens at the back that will
determine how successful Ferguson's team are in their quest for
honours.
"Five clean sheets on the trot is a great achievement," he said. "I
know we play good football with plenty of flair but a lot of our
game is based on how we defend. The back four and Edwin van der Sar
have had a lot of credit lately and rightly so.
"But right from the front, I think everyone is doing their job
defensively really well. We are very solid and we want to continue
that because we will always create chances with the forward players
we have."
