Manchester United’s interim manager Michael Carrick felt the calculated gamble to start with Harry Maguire paid off against Manchester City during Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win at Old Trafford.

“I’m not going to lie, it was a bit of a calculated gamble. We were unsure how long he could play and whether he could get through it, as he had been training for only two or three days for probably eight or nine weeks. I thought he was fantastic. Between him and Licha (Lisandro Martinez), they were so solid at the back and gave us the foundation to build on,” Carrick told the club’s website after the memorable win.

Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu sealed victory in the 198th Manchester derby.

United’s main problem has been inconsistency. Carrick said his main challenge will be to ensure that the level of fight and aggression shown on Saturday is not a one-off.

“That’s the challenge. I think it needs to be a version of normal. We’re not going to have games with the emotion and feeling and everything that the derby brought. But there are definitely levels of standards and expectations that we need to live up to from ourselves. I’m totally aware of that. Consistency is the key. That’s our challenge.”

United next face Arsenal away on January 25.

“Big one next week (against Arsenal), obviously another tough one. But on the back of Saturday, we’ve got a good foundation to build on,” Carrick said.