Michael Carrick's chequered history with Man City: Playing the peacemaker with x-rated blast in 30-man brawl, THAT title heartbreak, a crucial goal in cup thriller - and the one moment he lost his temper with Sir Alex Ferguson

Michael Carrick flew down the corridor that separates the two dressing-rooms at Old Trafford and waded into the ugly brawl that had erupted moments earlier. Up to 30 players and staff from Manchester United and Manchester City were scrapping in the wake of a 2-1 derby defeat for Jose Mourinho 's side.

The incredible scenes had been sparked by Mourinho being hit on the head by a plastic bottle and squirted with water from inside City's dressing-room when he went in to complain about their gloating behaviour and confronted goalkeeper Ederson .

Marcos Rojo and Antonio Valencia were first to stick up for their manager, closely followed by Luke Shaw , Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera.

Then came Carrick. Pulling back teammates and older members of staff in his role as a peacemaker, he forced his way to the front of the melee to defuse the situation shouting: 'Show some f***ing respect!'

Ever a calming influence on the pitch, Carrick has always been able to keep a cool head off it as well.

When these two old rivals clash again at Old Trafford in the 198th Manchester derby on Saturday, United will be relying on Carrick's composure and presence of mind once again. As fate would have it, his first game as head coach is against City.

Michael Carrick will renew his rivalry with Manchester City in his first game as Manchester United head coach on Saturday

Carrick will be in charge for the Manchester derby after replacing Ruben Amorim

That Old Trafford bust-up happened in December 2017. There was no mention of it when Carrick published his autobiography Between the Lines two years later, but he did reflect on United's title heartbreak in 2012 when they threw away an eight-point lead and lost out to City on goal difference on the final day of the season.

'I never thought for one second City would draw (at home to QPR),' Carrick wrote. 'The very first time I let myself think we had a chance, boom it got ripped away.

'It's a day that pains me even now. Occasionally, the sports channels show the Aguero goal and I look away. To this day, I've not watched City lift that trophy.'

Carrick won 12 of his 23 derbies during an illustrious United career, losing nine and drawing the other two.

He scored when United lost 2-1 to City on the 50th anniversary of Munich, and got a crucial goal in the League Cup semi-finals in January 2010 as Sir Alex Ferguson's side just about kept their neighbours at bay to go through 4-3 on aggregate with a late Wayne Rooney winner.

But United couldn't hold back the blue tide forever in the wake of the Abu Dhabi takeover, and Carrick was facing challenges of his own. In the book, he details honestly and eloquently his battles with depression around the 2010 World Cup.

When he returned to United that summer, he remembers blowing up at Ferguson over the 'indignity' of being made to play in a reserve game against City's elite development squad in a Manchester Senior Cup game at Hyde United.

'I said: 'why the f*** am I playing reserves? It's pointless. I might as well train.' God knows why I spoke to him like that. I hadn't before and didn't ever again. On another day that could have been the end of me. Maybe he sensed something,' Carrick recalls.

Carrick scored a vital goal in United's thrilling 4-3 aggregate win over Man City in the 2010 League Cup semi-finals

The ex-United midfielder pictured celebrating Robin van Persie's late winner in 2012

He questioned his future at Old Trafford again the following summer when he was substituted at half-time of the 2011 Community Shield as United came back to beat City, and was then left out of the opening few games of the season.

In fact, Carrick remained at the club as a player for another eight years. He captained United for the first time in Ferguson's final game in charge, a crazy 5-5 draw at West Brom, and is said to have given a rousing speech in the dressing-room at the Etihad when United came from two goals down at half-time to beat City 3-2 and delay their title celebrations in 2018.

Carrick moved onto the coaching staff under Mourinho that summer and remained there for another three-and-a-half years, stepping in as caretaker for three games after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November 2021.

When United axed Ruben Amorim at the start of last week, they turned to Carrick again as replacement head coach until the end of the season.

As he returned to Carrington on Wednesday, there was only excitement and anticipation ahead of his first game against City at lunchtime on Saturday.

'Coming into this club from the very start, the big games, the important games, are what we live for,' he told MUTV. 'Some are more challenging than others, but it's why we're here, so we'll go for it head on.

'Old Trafford is an incredible place and the fans will be there, no doubt. We need them to be all together. The fans are desperate to grab onto something for us to go on a journey and start on Saturday.'

Asked if he had a message for supporters, Carrick added: 'Come on Saturday with everything you've got; full of enthusiasm, full of energy. Support us in the good times and the rough times. Love coming and love watching us and love the emotion.

'Saturday is is an important game for so many reasons, and I want to feel that everyone comes to that stadium with an expectation that something special might happen.'