Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick had high praise for goalkeeper Senne Lammens after a 1-0 win against Everton in the Premier League on Monday.
Lammens kept a first away clean sheet for United since last March and was a force in net all night at Hill Dickinson Stadium in a win that saw Carrick’s side move ahead of Chelsea and into fourth place in the Premier League.
“For me a goalkeeper has to be reliable, be trustworthy,” Carrick said after the game. “Instead of creating a chaos, you want him to take the chaos away and calm things down. I think Senne does that.”
Everton tried to put Lammens under pressure by stationing a number of players near him at a series of corners in the second half, but to no avail.
Toffees boss David Moyes conceded it was a plan that failed.
“The goalie was bloody brilliant. The save he made from Michael Keane, the way he dealt with the corners,” former Man United coach Moyes said. “We hoped somewhere we’d have got…one of them with the pressure we had in those situations.
“I thought we would get one, but we didn’t. For me he was the best player on the pitch.”
United were frustrated going forward throughout the match, but with the score level at 0-0 Benjamin Sesko came on and turned the game around when he finished off a quick-hitting counter to give his side all three points.
Sesko has scored six in his last seven appearances, but has still not managed to force his way into the starting lineup and, while Carrick said there was maybe some frustration for the £66 million ($89 million) summer signing, the 22-year-old was not complaining.
“I get why everyone’s talking about it and making a bigger deal of it, but I’ve got a really good relationship with Ben,” said Carrick. “I’ve got no problem with Ben and he hasn’t got an issue. He obviously wants to play, but I can’t speak highly enough of how he’s been and the work he’s putting in and his attitude to come on and do what he’s done again.
“We’ve had some really good conversations and he’s in a really good place, and part of us is helping him take his steps in development and growing him as a player.
“Sometimes that’s little steps, sometimes that’s bigger steps and he’s taken some huge steps recently. That’s great to see.”
United and Carrick, who has yet to lose a game since taking over from Ruben Amorim, host Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on March 1 in their next Premier League game.
Everton have won just four of their 14 Premier League games at their new stadium and Moyes accepts his side are still adapting.
He said: “I think there is probably a change — other teams come here and enjoy it.
“There are things about it which are different and we have to get used to.
“But I think our games are better than at Goodison. Our team is better this year and it wasn’t as if we were winning every game at Goodison, to be honest.”
Information from PA was used in this report.
