Carrick: Man Utd should not be over-celebrating Champions League place

Michael Carrick believes qualifying for the Champions League is not something Manchester United “should be over-celebrating”.

The Red Devils took a huge step towards confirming their return to UEFA’s flagship competition with a 2-1 win over Brentford on Monday.

United are now 11 points clear of sixth-place Brighton with four games to go, with a return to the Champions League all but confirmed.

Since Carrick’s first game on January 17, the Red Devils have won more Premier League points than any other side (29 – P13 W9 D2 L2).

United have not featured in the Champions League since the 2023-24 season, when they were knocked out in the group stage under Erik ten Hag.

They also missed the chance to qualify through the Europa League last season, losing to Tottenham in the final.

However, United have not won the Premier League title since 2013, and Carrick has urged the club to aim higher in the coming season.

“We’ve given ourselves a great chance [to qualify for the Champions League], we’ve put ourselves in a big position,” he said.

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“It’s a tough league, it’s tough to get wins. You can see that throughout the league. To get the amount of wins we’ve had. I think the lads have got to take a bit of credit for that.

“The Champions League is one thing, but it’s not something that we should be over-celebrating either.

“We want to be finishing high up the league really and we want to be challenging high up in the league and trying to get more points so our season doesn’t get to a close when that happens.”

Next up for United is a clash against rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford, with the Reds just three points behind in fourth.