Gerrard backs Carrick to stick with Baleba and Santos after United's compact Leeds draw

Steven Gerrard has urged Manchester United manager Michael Carrick to persist with Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos in central midfield after the pair helped United grind out a draw against Leeds United at Elland Road on Sunday, a result that leaves the club six games without a win.

Carrick opted for a three-man midfield of Baleba, Santos and Youri Tielemans — with Kobbie Mainoo unavailable — which freed Bruno Fernandes to operate from the right flank. Speaking on The Overlap, Gerrard said the setup gave United a more physical and dynamic presence in the middle of the pitch than recent selections had provided.

“When it’s Mainoo and Tielemans in there, and Fernandes, I think those three as a group, they lack a bit of dynamism, a bit of legs if you like,” Gerrard said. “With Santos and Baleba, there’s a bit more power, a bit more physicality, they can get about a little bit more, so you can understand why Michael went with that personnel, especially against Leeds — a bit of a derby, you probably knew there was going to be a bit of needle in the game.”

Gerrard described the shape as resembling a 4-2-4 at times, with Fernandes and Tielemans functioning as a pair of number tens who covered for each other out of possession. “It was stronger, it was more compact,” he added. “But the big thing for me was there was more running, more tackles, they were up for it.”

Gary Neville had reached a similar conclusion in his own post-match analysis, acknowledging that the Baleba-Santos combination had been an unlikely but effective solution. “You’d have said at the start of the season ‘who is going to be your two?’ — that would have been your last two,” Neville said. “Maybe them two could be the way forward because the defence is not good enough. Baleba and Santos do protect it, and they need protecting.”

Neville also credited Carrick with showing a tactical flexibility that his predecessor Ruben Amorim had struggled to demonstrate, pointing to the decision to protect a vulnerable back four as a sign of pragmatic management at a difficult moment for the club.

United’s draw at Elland Road followed a 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid, and the run of six games without a victory underlines the scale of the challenge facing Carrick. However, both Gerrard and Neville suggest the midfield blueprint from Sunday may offer a more stable foundation going forward.