Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has hailed the influence of Michael Carrick in their sudden form surge.
Carrick was handed a new contract by Sir Alex Ferguson this season even though his form dipped.
He was also to blame for Manchester City's FA Cup semi-final winner at Wembley last week when a stray pass rolled kindly for Yaya Toure to score.
But Carrick, 29, was a big influence in United's Champions League quarter-final triumph over Chelsea and Vidic feels he will be a key man, with Darren Fletcher out, in Tuesday's semi-final first-leg against Schalke.
Vidic said: "We know how important he is for us."
