an UEFA Champions League tie away at Villareal, which United won thanks to late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and a first United goal for Jadon Sancho, sealing United's place in the last-16 of the competition. Following a 3–2 victory against Arsenal on 2 December, Carrick stepped down as first team coach and left Manchester United with immediate effect, shortly after the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager, who would go on to remain in the role for the rest of the season. During his three match reign as caretaker manager, he recorded two wins and one draw, with United also having drawn with Chelsea in his first Premier League game. Middlesbrough On 24 October 2022, Carrick was appointed head coach of EFL Championship club Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough were at 21st position in the EFL Championship at this time, with 17 points from 16 games played, one point above the relegation zone. Despite taking the lead, Middlesbrough lost Carrick’s first game in charge 2–1 away to Preston North End on 29 October. On 7 December 2022, Carrick was nominated for the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award for November after his first calendar month in charge. Style of play Despite playing as a deep-lying midfielder, Carrick did not rely on pace, stamina, physical attributes, box-to-box play and tackling like a typical ball-winning midfielder; instead, his intelligence and composure on reading of the game helped him to anticipate any attacking threats from the opposition team, most of the time by covering space and making interceptions. His distribution of the ball, vision, creativity, playmaking skills, crossing ability, and range of passing, among the best in comparison to other midfielders in Europe, was allied to an ability to dictate the tempo of the game, as well as initiate team attacks. After his arrival at Manchester United in 2006, Carrick formed an effective partnership with Paul Scholes, with Carrick playing in a holding role and Scholes alongside him as a deep-seated playmaker. This midfield partnership contributed to a change towards a continental playing style embraced by manager Alex Ferguson and assistant Carlos Queiroz, which relied on passing and keeping possession in contrast to the more traditionally direct and all-action style of English football. His unassuming style, however, also led to a lack of attention from successive England national team managers in favour of all-action midfielders such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, a fact