Manchester United lost 0-1 to Championship side Wrexham in their first pre-season friendly! £50 million midfielder makes debut, Carrick's plan revealed

In Helsinki's Olympic Stadium, Manchester United kicked off their summer warm-up campaign with a 0-1 defeat to Championship side Wrexham. With a capacity of over 30,000, the stands drew just 20,000 fans, indicating a lackluster fixture. The sole focus was on how Carrick would utilize the £50 million newcomer Andrey Santos.

Carrick fielded his strongest lineup from the start: Tom Heaton in goal, a back four of Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Eden Heaven, and Luke Shaw, Santos partnering Mason Mount in midfield, with Mbeumo, Jack Fletcher, Patrick Doku, and striker Zirkzee leading the attack.

The 22-year-old Santos clearly still has room for growth, but he has already earned six caps for Brazil, won the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea last year, and made 71 top-flight appearances—28 in the Premier League and the rest in Ligue 1 for Strasbourg. Thus, he is not a "lottery ticket" but a first-team player who needs to perform now.

In the first half, Santos operated on the left side of a double pivot, with Mount on the right and Jack Fletcher playing as a No. 10. Carrick's tactical plan was for Santos to drop deep to receive the ball and act as a "playmaker," similar to Casemiro last season. The young Santos has better mobility than the "Fat Tiger," but his current level clearly doesn't match the Brazilian veteran's, given Casemiro's Real Madrid career and Champions League pedigree as part of the legendary midfield trio.

Santos was fairly efficient, notably making a crucial block inside the box to deny a potential open-goal chance. However, he also had several mistakes, losing possession twice in dangerous areas shortly after kick-off, nearly putting Heaton's goal under direct threat.

His form mirrored that of the entire United team. This is unsurprising, as the Red Devils have only been together for a week, focusing on fitness rather than tactical drills during early pre-season. Consequently, the first summer friendly is usually chaotic, mainly aimed at building match fitness, adapting to the rhythm, and avoiding injuries.

Carrick's selection in this match indicated that Santos will be the player responsible for defending deep and initiating the first pass in the new season, feeding the ball to a more creative midfielder—potentially another new signing like Youri Tielemans or last season's mainstay Kobbie Mainoo.

Despite dominating possession in the first half, United struggled to find effective ways to break down Wrexham's defense, especially lacking creative players like Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes, and Cunha. Jack Fletcher lacked experience, Doku and Mbeumo are more suited to direct running, and Zirkzee should have been sold long ago.

United's only threat came from Mount, who took a corner from the left that Wrexham's former United academy player Sam Smith attempted to head clear but ended up heading against the crossbar. After the match, Carrick expressed satisfaction with his midfield partnership: "I think Andrey (Santos) and Mason (Mount) linked up very well and performed excellently. It was good to see him in a United shirt."

During the match, Santos clashed with Smith, pushing him away after feeling the Wrexham player's challenge was too aggressive. But Smith had the last laugh: the former United youth player, released in 2014, scored after receiving a cross from Lewis O'Brien, sending United into the dressing room 0-1 down at halftime.

In the second half, both teams made 21 of 22 substitutions, with only Wrexham's Aaron James remaining on the pitch. United's second-half lineup consisted entirely of youngsters, but they controlled the tempo, and Carrick praised them afterward for playing with dignity.

Unfortunately, just like the first half, United barely tested Wrexham's backup goalkeeper Danny Ward. In the dying moments, midfielder Dan Gore was brought down in the box, but the referee waved away penalty appeals, drawing boos from the crowd. The Red Devils ultimately couldn't salvage the result.

Wrexham had already played a pre-season friendly, so their training camp was ahead of United's, making their victory unsurprising. Noteworthy is that this club, owned by "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds, has now beaten United twice in pre-season! In 2023 in San Diego, USA, they beat United 3-1, with the Red Devils also fielding a youth-heavy squad that time.

United manager Michael Carrick commented after the match: "As I said before the game, the players have only really trained together for about ten days. To be honest, today's focus was on grinding, finding some positives, discovering good things, and understanding that it wouldn't be perfect—that's natural for the first game. I think the most important thing for us is that everyone came through it safely, in good physical condition, with no injuries, so we can move forward and build a foundation for next week's matches."

Regarding Santos's performance, Carrick said: "Andrey is gradually finding his rhythm and getting his feel back. So it's pleasing to see him on the pitch. I think it's a good sign. Mason also did some really excellent things, and they linked up very well—you can see some positive signals from that. I think the clever little movements in the high areas, and those bright moments, are improving with each passing week of training."

United's next match is on Friday against Rosenborg in Norway. Carrick revealed that World Cup-bound internationals will gradually return. "They'll be coming back soon," Carrick explained. "As the season approaches, the squad will get stronger and stronger—we've known that all along. But the current group is already very good, and we're really looking forward to the upcoming games, continuing to work hard to make a difference, keep improving, and steadily prepare for the start of the season."