Kobbie Mainoo is Fast Becoming Carrick's Most Important Man Utd Player

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He's been brilliant again for Manchester United this season

Manchester United's disappointing start to the Premier League season continued - even without the VAR controversy - as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Manchester City in the derby at Old Trafford on Sunday.

A pro ref statement came out post-match saying that the decision to award Erling Haaland's winning goal was a mistake, and it was clearly a big error.

However, it should take away from what was another poor 2026-27 showing from Man United , just days after their comfortable 4-0 Champions League victory against Sabah at the Theatre of Dreams.

One of the stars of the show against the Azerbaijani outfit was midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, who was given a 10/10 rating by ESPN for his display.

Despite a major midfield rebuild over the summer transfer window that saw Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba sign following the departure of Casemiro, and the serious injury suffered by Manuel Ugarte, Mainoo remains a mainstay in the Red Devils' engine room.

While Baleba isn't yet fit enough to play minutes, the Cameroon international isn't far away and he could become a key player alongside the England international in the centre of the park.

Having been largely left on the sidelines by Ruben Amorim in the first half of last season, Mainoo re-emerged under Michael Carrick and regularly stole the show next to Casemiro, as United soared up the standings to register a third-place finish.

Mainoo vs Man City

- Minutes played: 90 - Touches: 86 - Accurate passes: 68/70 - Pass accuracy: 97% - Chances created: 3 - Successful dribbles: 4/4 - Line-breaking passes: 17 - Duels won: 5/10 - Defensive contributions: 13

Things might be more difficult in the league this season from what we've seen so far, with the club beginning the campaign with one win - against newly-promoted Ipswich Town - one draw and two defeats.

We all know that Bruno Fernandes is the captain and the club's talisman but, aside from his hat-trick against Ipswich, the Potrugal international hasn't been at his best this term.

Instead, it was only Mainoo who was given any credit by journalist and Man United fan Alex Crook after the Man City game, as he outshone all of his teammates.

One of United's major summer additions was the £50m deal to sign Santos from Chelsea, but it's already looking like a questionable decision.

Having started the opening-day defeat against Hull City alongside Tielemans, the Brazilian has only made 16 minutes of Premier League football since, and was an unused substitute for the derby on Sunday.

He was also a sub for the game against Sabah, which seemed the perfect opportunity to give him another start, but he only ended up playing 26 minutes as a substitute.

Andrey Santos (PL - 2026-27)

- Minutes: 83 - Distance covered: 12 km - Pass accuracy: 92.8% - Line-breaking passes: 16 - Duels won: 9 - Defensive contributions: 18

While United may have felt they needed three new central midfielders in the circumstances, it appears likely that Santos will find himself as fourth-choice when Baleba is fully fit, while Mason Mount showed in pre-season that he could play deeper if absolutely necessary, as can Fernandes.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils look short of quality and depth in the full-back positions, which was exposed again against City, and it was no secret that they wanted to sign a left-back in the summer following links with Lewis Hall at Newcastle United and Barcelona's Alejandro Balde.

Given the form of Mainoo and the options they could soon have in the middle of the park, using the £50m spent on Santos to sign a new full-back would have been the better decision.

United now find themselves in an eerily similar situation to this time last year

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