Four goals in one afternoon, and none of them scored by a striker
Twenty-nine minutes in, Leif Davis put Ipswich Town ahead at Old Trafford. Nobody in the away end expected what came next. Manchester United won 5-2 on Sunday, and the man who broke the game open plays in midfield.
Eight days earlier, the Red Devils had been picked apart at Hull City on the opening weekend. Michael Carrick needed something. He got a lot more than that.
Bruno Fernandes levelled in the 40th minute, just as the interval was closing in. An own goal in the 56th put United in front. Ipswich never recovered from it.
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Twenty-one minutes, three goals
The penalty came on 61 minutes. Fernandes buried it. Seven minutes later he had the hat-trick, and Old Trafford had a reason to believe again.
Then came the assist. In the 82nd minute the Portuguese captain slid Bryan Mbeumo in for the fifth. Three goals, one assist, a hand in four of the five. The reigning PFA Player of the Year picked a useful afternoon to remind everyone why he won it. Chuba Akpom pulled one back in stoppage time, which nobody will remember by Tuesday.
Pressure had been building on Carrick since Hull. Five at home tends to quieten that sort of thing, at least for a fortnight.
Tenth place, and a goal difference worth having
United sit 10th after two rounds. Modest, on the face of it. The goal difference tells a friendlier story.
Ipswich arrived with genuine belief, having beaten Sunderland 2-1 on the opening weekend. They leave 12th, and having shipped five for the first time this season.
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