It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Man United are doing better with Michael Carrick at the wheel than with Ruben Amorim.
Ruben Amorim was sacked as Man United's head coach at the beginning of January, with Michael Carrick taking over on an interim basis later that month. Since then, United have gone unbeaten, winning five of their last six games, including three clean sheets. Amorim took over a year to win back to back games, and Carrick did it in 8 days.
There's plenty of data that tells us that Michael Carrick has already surpassed Ruben Amorim as a Manchester United manager, but one stat is perhaps most surprising of all. In his six games as United manager, three goals have been scored by substitutes under Michael Carrick: two from Benjamin Sesko against Fulham and Everton respectively, and one from Matheus Cunha, an already iconic strike against Arsenal.
In the fourteen months that Ruben Amorim was head coach, Man United substitutes contributed just two goals in the Premier League, one scored by Amad Diallo in a loss to Brentford, and the other by Christian Eriksen on the final day of last season, a penalty against Aston Villa.
Michael Carrick's substitutions are changing games for Manchester United
One criticism often levied against Ruben Amorim were his selections and his substitutions. United consistently struggled to finish out games, and find an extra gear with a fresh pair of legs while chasing a game, and Amorim's lack of action with substitutes was often blamed.
Too often Amorim would emerge from the dugout with a defender in tow, when United were desperately missing an extra attacker on the pitch. The stats back it up: no Man United game was won with a goal from a substitute. In the six games that Michael Carrick has managed, United subs have scored the winner in three, and a late equaliser in one other.
Michael Carrick is changing games with his substitutions. Even more impressively, he's doing it with an identical squad to the one Amorim struggled with. Michael Carrick's use of Benjamin Sesko, especially, is transforming his side's chances late in a game. Sesko's appearance late in games has won United points from losing or drawing positions three games in a row.
Carrick's success has the secondary consequence of making Amorim's tenure look worse. Amorim was open with the press about his struggles, stating on multiple occasions that United were simply not good enough, and needed 'to suffer' to improve. Since his ousting, Carrick's game management has flatly proved him wrong.