KOBBIE MAINOO’S celebration against Liverpool will be rife in Manchester playgrounds this week.
A quick Google suggests it represents the Gen Z saying ‘clock it’, a viral trend that the majority of the 74,027 inside Old Trafford on Jattvibeday will be unaware of.
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Mainoo was man of the match against Liverpool Credit: Getty Images
Mainoo scored the winner against Liverpool Credit: Getty
Fortunately for Manchester United, Mainoo is not clocking off. The best week of his season was bookended by two sterling performances, replete with a winning goal and a contract signing wedged between.
Since United’s season resumed after the March internationals, appreciation for Mainoo has soared with and without him.
United lost with Mainoo out injured against Leeds United. With him, they have won all three games against Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool.
Michael Carrick felt Mainoo’s performance at Stamford Bridge was his best under him. The 21-year-old has backed up that performance to complete a personal comeback at his boyhood club.
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Casemiro got the United player of the month award for April as he scored against Brentford and short-sighted supporters still chant, “One more year, Casemiro”.
Yet Mainoo outperformed Casemiro in both of their games next to each other against Chelsea and Brentford. Mainoo started this month with a first Premier League goal in nearly two years.
Mainoo has added a string to his bow with newfound defensive discipline that offsets the ease with which teams still play passes through the 34-year-old Casemiro.
Carrick said: “One of the biggest things for me is trying to get the best out of people and helping players and giving them the opportunity to go and perform and do what they’re good at, really.
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Mainoo has been influential under Carrick Credit: Getty Images
“There’s that side and then there’s obviously being part of it today and seeing this place alive and bouncing at the end is a real joy and a pleasure to be in the position.”
United’s performance against Liverpool was a decent homage to the absent Sir Alex Ferguson: counter-attacking, needless drama and a homegrown hero winning it.
Innumerable column inches have been dedicated to Mainoo over the past week and deservedly so. The focus now needs to shift away from him.
Come the end of the season, Mainoo will be one of two out-and-out senior central midfielders at United. The other is Manuel Ugarte.
Ugarte disastrously deputised for Mainoo in the 2-1 loss to Leeds. Carrick insisted that night he was not concerned about Ugarte’s record of ten starts, six defeats, three draws and one win.
If Carrick does not play poker he should take it up. Ugarte has not played since and Casemiro has completed 90 minutes four games running for the first time all season.
There will not be one more year of Casemiro and that is absolutely the right call ahead of a more taxing 2026-27 where United are likely to play at least ten more matches back in the Champions League.
In Casemiro’s two Champions League appearances for United, they conceded four at Bayern Munich and he was sent off in a 3-2 home defeat to Galatasaray. United finished bottom of their group in 2023.
As Casemiro winds down, Mainoo has the wind in his sails. Against Liverpool, Mainoo’s passing accuracy was 10 per cent greater than Casemiro’s and he only lost possession six times. Casemiro did so on 14 occasions.
Casemiro was dribbled past five times to Mainoo’s one. Both players recorded as many interceptions and Casemiro won only one more ‘ground duel’ than Mainoo.
Ugarte is a danger to his own side Credit: AFP
Casemiro and Mainoo have been midfield mainstays for Carrick Credit: Getty
Casemiro’s creditable swansong season is heavily owed to the lighter workload and perhaps his most lasting legacy at United will be Mainoo’s maturity into a more complete midfielder.
United are not going to bring in two (or three) midfielders with an aura comparable to Casemiro between them. The profile they favour are early-mid 20-somethings with Premier League pedigree.
Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Sandro Tonali, Alex Scott et al. are cracking players and have all impressed against United. The biggest honour between them was Tonali’s Serie A title triumph with AC MIllan four years ago.
The likelihood is that Mainoo’s new midfield team-mates will be older than him but he will still be viewed as the senior midfield mainstay. He first started training with the United first team at the age of 17.
United are prepared to finance a third midfield signing if they can get Ugarte off the books. Mainoo and Ugarte have been such an unsuccessful pairing that United have won two of the 15 games they have lined up alongside each other.
“That’s obviously the next challenge with being in a position where there’s more games,” Carrick said of the need to bulk up the squad ahead of United’s return to the Champions League.
“It’s been a bit frustrating at certain points because we’ve had big gaps between games, so there’s a positive and a negative to that.
“But certainly the balance of the squad, what it looks like, strength, depth, that’s part of the conversations anywhere.
“When I came in I was never going to make decisions just to get to the end of the season, it was always for the benefit of the whole football club moving forward.
“We’re definitely well aware of what that should and could look like and where we want to try and get to.”
Mainoo is clocking it but Ugarte might be clocking out.
Man Utd ratings vs Liverpool
MAN UTD were involved in a thriller as they overcame Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford.
A brilliant start looked to have been thrown away before Kobbie Mainoo came to the rescue.
Here’s how the players rated…
Senne Lammens – 5Endured his worst moment in goal for United as his dreadful pass out to Alexis Mc Allister handed Liverpool’s equaliser on a plate.
The Belgian had a relatively quiet first half before playing a huge role in United imploding. Recovered somewhat to hack the ball off the line after a scramble.
Diogo Dalot – 5Worked to get forward as much as possible before the break but should have closed the gap on Szoboszlai before his goal.
Harry Maguire – 6After keeping United’s strong defensive shape in the first half, Maguire fell apart in the second.
Sold himself too easy to allow Szoboszlai to finish. And he continued to be plagued by more shaky moments as the game dragged on.
Ayden Heaven – 6Heaven had dealt with his three game cover for Lisandro Martinez with such maturity.
He will only keep developing at this level after a chaotic grudge match between the rivals.
Luke Shaw – 6Provided the cross for the second goal and defended well against Jeremie Frimpong, who never got to use his pace advantage against the left back.
Fell apart a little after the break as he was booked for a foul on Frimpong and booted the ball out for corner under little pressure.
Casemiro – 6The midfielder was pivotal in keeping United’s heads after Liverpool equalised but struggled to stem the flows of the visitors’ attacks.
He headed two free-kicks clear but should have done better when Bruno Fernandes from him a point-blank range.
Kobbie Mainoo – 8The Old Trafford announcer said “Manchester born and bred” when Mainoo fired in United’s winner as the academy graduate endured his crowning moment following a torrid 16 months.
Such mature and an esteemed performance from the England hopeful. The 21-year-old has improved defensively and was one of the most fouled players of the first half, with Mac Allister going unpunished for a trip.
Bruno Fernandes – 8The skipper was electric again and was central to cutting through Liverpool like a hot knife through butter.
He was denied matching the Premier League assist record after Freddie Woodman pushed his cross onto Sesko .
He came inches away from tripling United’s lead, which ended up being more important when it was 2-2. He was incensed with the referee after the interval.
Matheus Cunha – 7The Brazilian was a welcome return for Carrick after missing the Brentford win through injury. Cunha left everything out there.
His opener was his ninth goal of the campaign and he offered more threat on the left wing than Amad. Moved to No9 in the final 20 minutes.
Bryan Mbeumo – 7Mbeumo has been stronger since being dropped against Leeds, but United are still waiting to see the player who started the season so strongly.
His back heel that hit the post was classy but proved pivotal as Liverpool levelled shortly after.
Benjamin Sesko – 7The 22-year-old, who plenty wrote off far too quickly, is now United’s top goalscorer of the season, with 11 in his debut campaign.
He was a handle for Virgil van Dijk and gave Ibrahima Konate the run around, with the Frenchman exacting revenge by launching the striker into the advertising boards. It might have injured him to be point of being replaced at half-time.
SUBS
Amad (for Sesko, 46) – 5Endured a horrible introduction after a lazy pass was picked up Szoboszlai on the half-way line before the Liverpool star’s goal.
Did well to head a cross into the box which fell to Mainoo for his goal.
Patrick Dorgu (for Mbeumo, 76) – 5First minutes since pulling his hamstring at Arsenal. Fumbled on the floor when Cunha put him through.
Despite being low on game time, Dorgu fired well wide in stoppage time.
Joshua Zirkzee (for Cunha, 85) – N/A
Leny Yoro (for Fernandes 90+5) – N/A
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