Kobbie Mainoo was included in the starting lineup for the Manchester derby for his first appearance of the season, and it was a match he won’t forget anytime soon.
Mainoo’s first league start of 2025/26 didn’t come until game number 22. Before then, Michael Carrick had kept him out of the lineup for all but four matches, where injuries forced his absence.
Now ‘free’ again under Michael Carrick, Mainoo made the most of his chance by helping Manchester United to a 2-0 victory over rivals City.
United were so dominant that the end result could quite easily have been 6-0.
Mainoo hadn’t played a full league match since Erik ten Hag’s time in charge back in September 2024. But his performance this weekend was hard to miss, and fresh statistics from the derby highlight just how well he played against City.
Mainoo’s off-ball work hits season high for United
Kobbie Mainoo covered more ground without the ball against City than any United player has managed in a league game this season.
According to data shared by Sky Sports, Mainoo logged 7.9km out of possession during the win at Old Trafford, topping the previous high of Manuel Ugarte’s 7.6km recorded in a Boxing Day victory over Newcastle.
Four of the top six distances covered by United players this season all came from that match, with Patrick Dorgu, Bruno Fernandes and Amad also putting in high numbers.
Impressively, Carrick and his staff had only three days with the squad before kick-off. Yet even in that short window, they clearly got the team on board with their approach.
The payoff was seen in both how hard United worked off the ball and how sharp they looked going forward.
Kobbie Mainoo addressed criticism over his physicality
It was a performance that quietened his critics and showed exactly what he can do. There had been doubts about whether he could finish the game strong, especially from Gary Neville, but Mainoo lasted the full match without fading.
Amorim wasn’t shy in pointing out what he thought were gaps in Mainoo’s game, mainly around how much ground he could cover in midfield.
The coach explained: “He is really good at controlling the game, but if he plays as a no.8, he has to reach the box [and be] returning [back to midfield]. Sometimes he has to cover a lot of space.”
Mainoo’s qualities were never fully utilised under Amorim’s system, and it became clear that his style wasn’t going to work for everyone.
Mainoo’s track record speaks for itself. He has shown before – and now after Amorim – that he is capable of running United’s midfield. His performance against City made it hard to argue otherwise.
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