Carrick Laments Manchester United's Inability to Close Out Games
Manager cites failure to secure wins against 10-man opposition as a major concern following draw with Spurs.
Michael Carrick expressed frustration over Manchester United's inability to secure victories when holding a numerical advantage, a recurring issue that led to a 1-1 draw against 10-man Tottenham at Old Trafford.
The result means Manchester United has secured only six points from their opening six league games, marking their worst start to a season in 40 years, a period dating back to November 1986 when Sir Alex Ferguson took over.
This is the second consecutive home Premier League match where Manchester United has failed to defeat an opponent reduced to 10 men. The team also conceded a late equalizer at Everton in a previous fixture.
"When things aren't quite going to plan, I understand the reaction at times," Carrick stated regarding the crowd's boos at the end of both halves. "Obviously, it hurts, you know. It hurts a lot. It's not nice to go through, but sometimes you have to go through it."
He added, "I care as much as anybody about this club. But it's coming from a good place really, and so I understand it. I'm not happy with the amount of points we've had so far. There's no hiding from that. That's the reality and we've got to accept it. We need to put things in a positive direction quite quickly, that's pretty plain."
Carrick highlighted the concession of late goals in successive matches: "That's two late, late goals against us to throw away two wins. So that changes a lot of things. It changes the feelings among ourselves and it changes the points. We need to do better with seeing out games once we get ourselves in a good position, that's for sure. We're more than capable of doing that. We've just got to be a little bit more streetwise in the moments and a little bit more stubborn and strong. It's definitely something where, 10 men or not 10 men, if we're ahead in games, we've got to see them out."
Tottenham, despite remaining winless in their six Premier League games this season, found encouragement in their performance and resilience. Manager Roberto De Zerbi acknowledged Rodrigo Bentancur's misstep in headbutting Luke Shaw, an action that led to his red card. However, De Zerbi also noted that the incident spurred his team to play with greater courage and energy.
"I kissed Rodrigo and say thanks," revealed De Zerbi. "It is clearly a mistake from Rodrigo, it is not the right reaction in football. But now Tottenham needs to react. Sometimes the reaction is not nice, not positive for the team, but in that moment maybe with 10 players we played with more courage more energy. For a long time Tottenham played without this blood and this character. Now I am the coach and I want to see this character every game. With the qualities and the character and the right energy, we are going to win many games and score many goals."