Carrick admits United need points 'quickly' after 10-man Spurs snatch late draw
Michael Carrick was left “massively disappointed” by Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Old Trafford and admitted his side need more points after managing just six from their opening six league games.
The result represents United’s poorest start to a season since 1986, and it arrived in painful fashion: having been handed a numerical advantage when Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off in the 78th minute, United conceded Dominic Solanke’s added-time equaliser to 10-man Spurs, squandering the chance to claim only a second league victory of the campaign.
'The reality is the reality'
“I am massively disappointed with the result, for sure. A mixed performance. I’m not happy with the amount of points that we’ve had so far. There’s no hiding from that,” Carrick said. “I think it could have been different for a couple of little things here or there, but the reality is the reality, we’ve got to accept it, you know. We need to put things in a direction, in a positive direction quite quickly, that’s pretty plain.”
United were disjointed throughout, and Carrick was asked whether he felt let down by his players. “I don’t feel let down, because you can make mistakes. You can make mistakes, things go against you,” he said. “I’ve made mistakes in games, and it’s not so much letting everyone down. We’ve all got standards, we’ve all got levels, the players have got levels and standards, and they hold their hands up at times when something goes against them.”
Fans make their frustration clear
United’s supporters jeered at times during the game, and Carrick said he understood their reaction. “When things aren’t quite going to plan, I understand the reaction at times,” he said. “Obviously, it hurts a lot. It’s not nice to go through, but sometimes you have to go through it, that’s how it is.
“I care as much as anybody about this place, so sometimes you could say too much because then it overspills. But it’s coming from a good place, really, and so I understand it.”
The sense of a team struggling for identity has been building for weeks. Writing on 11 October, prior coverage reported that United were booed off after the same fixture, with Carrick insisting: “It doesn’t change my belief or the confidence in the players… We’re a really good team and capable of being a really good team, but we’ve obviously got to start getting more points on the board, that’s for sure.”
The match that got away
Bryan Mbeumo’s opener had appeared to set United on course for a hard-fought win, but the game turned in a chaotic closing spell. Bentancur’s sending-off came five minutes after Mbeumo’s goal, and Spurs responded by throwing bodies forward, eventually finding Solanke in stoppage time to level the scores.
The Tottenham midfielder’s dismissal followed a melee, with Bentancur red-carded for a head-butt, though earlier a scissors-challenge on Luke Shaw might have caused a serious injury had it connected.
Carrick’s side must now find answers quickly, with their points tally and their start to the campaign already under intense scrutiny.