The hosts were searching for a response after a miserable defeat on matchday one, but their attempts to establish early dominance were met by an Ipswich side which clearly fancied their chances.
Both goalkeepers were called into action in a breathless sequence just before the quarter-hour mark, which saw a Diogo Dalot curler destined for the top corner tipped over by the visitors’ giant goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen.
From the resulting corner, the Tractor Boys broke forward, with Julio Enciso showing a clean pair of heels to the pursuing Luke Shaw and Bryan Mbeumo, but his shot was thwarted by Senne Lammens.
As tension spread around Old Trafford, Gary O’Neil’s men rose to the occasion, and after Daizen Maeda was denied by Lammens, the man who supplied him - Leif Davis - broke the deadlock, turning home at the back post after Abdul Fatawu had breezed past Luke Shaw on the wing and delivered into the United area.
Ipswich almost doubled their advantage after that, but this time Lammens was equal to another Davis effort, before the Red Devils capitalised on a pivotal moment.
Marcelino Nunez slipped and handed the hosts a two-on-one break, from which Matheus Cunha slotted in Bruno Fernandes to rifle in at the near post and restore parity.
Carrick’s charges were straight onto the front foot after the restart as they looked to complete the turnaround, and should have done just that when Mbeumo inexplicably failed to convert from little more than a yard out, hitting the bar from Marcus Rashford’s centre.
While they may have felt unlucky in that instance, United were more fortuitous from the next attack. Maguire charged down a clearance on the edge of the Ipswich box, appearing to use his hands to do so.
He then took aim at goal, and his shot was on its way wide before being deflected in by Jacob Greaves, whose intervention saved the goal from being disallowed.
Ipswich’s sense of injustice did little to save them when United surged forward again immediately, and Greaves’ afternoon went from bad to worse when he tripped Matheus Cunha inside the box.
Fernandes - who missed two spot-kicks in pre-season - made no mistake this time, sending Scherpen the wrong way to double the Red Devils’ lead.
The Ipswich stopper then denied Rashford, but there was no stopping the rampant hosts and their talismanic captain, who rounded off his third United hat-trick with a tap-in after Kobbie Mainoo and Mbeumo saw shots blocked.
Not content with a mere hat-trick, Fernandes then turned provider, slotting in Mbeumo to dink over the gigantic Scherpen, with the ball initially hitting the bar before trickling over the line despite Greaves’ best efforts.
That wasn't the end of the scoring in a deluge of rain, however, and Enciso picked Lisandro Martinez’s pocket before laying on for Chuba Akpom to tap in beyond the 90th minute, but United’s ninth win in 10 outings at Old Trafford since Carrick’s appointment had long since been secured.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
