Man United’s failure to beat Spurs exposes how much trouble Carrick and his staff are in
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United fans who came to Old Trafford on Saturday hoping to enjoy Manchester City’s scandal left disappointed. They had too many problems of their own. Tottenham Hotspur snatched a 1-1 draw with a 92nd-minute equalizer from Dominic Solanke, even though they had been down to 10 men since Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for head-butting Luke Shaw.
The chants of “You cheating bastards, you know what you are” rang out before kickoff. When Bryan Mbeumo gave United the lead midway through the second half, the home fans also mocked Spurs with “You’re going down with the City.” But by the time referee Stuart Attwell blew the final whistle, the stadium had moved on from City’s scandal. Fans streamed out asking how Tottenham had managed to score.
“Massively disappointed with the result for sure,” Michael Carrick said afterward. “A mixed performance, to be totally honest. I think it was tough. It was challenging for the first period, definitely.
“There was a big improvement through the second half as it progressed and we put ourselves in such a good position towards the end of the game. To then not see it through — we should find a way of seeing that through.”
Late goals raise questions about Carrick
The spotlight will fall on Carrick after a result that leaves United with their worst start to a season after six games since 1986. Carrick does not blame his players publicly, and he did not do so again in his post-match news conference. Still, he has every right to expect more.
Solanke’s header was the third time this season that United have conceded in stoppage time. Two of those goals, against Everton and Spurs, have cost them four points.
“It’s a couple of times now when — different ways, obviously — that’s two late, late goals against us to throw away two wins really,” Carrick said. “That changes a lot of things, you know. It changes a lot of feelings for ourselves and it changes points and what [the table] looks like. We need to do better with seeing out games, that’s for sure, once we get ourselves in a good position.”
The recurring late collapses point to a fragile mentality and an inability to handle pressure when it matters most.
Defensive errors on the goal
Lisandro Martínez will not want to watch the goal again. Only he knows what he was doing when Sandro Tonali‘s cross floated toward Solanke. Rather than dancing around the Spurs striker, he could have headed the ball clear. Senne Lammens could also have done better.
Solanke’s goal means Spurs have joined City in scoring at Old Trafford this season after having a player sent off. United have now failed to win any of their past three games against teams with 10 men. In March, they lost 2-1 at Newcastle United after Jacob Ramsey was dismissed. In November, under Ruben Amorim, Everton won 1-0 at Old Trafford despite having Idrissa Gueye sent off for slapping his own teammate.
“It’s definitely something where — 10 men or not 10 men — if we’re ahead in the game, we’ve got to see games out,” Carrick said. “Whether that’s taking the ball, whether that’s controlling the game a little bit more, looking after the ball better in their half and around their box and pinning them in a little bit, or whether that’s defending moments better. Certainly, we need to improve that.”
Boos, a debut and a difficult fixture list
Fans booed at Old Trafford after just 20 minutes, as Spurs, who had started the day bottom of the table, began brightly. The guilty verdict in City’s Premier League case had taken the focus off United during the international break. However, the frustration returned quickly as Carrick’s side were outplayed for large parts of the first half.
The energy and intent began to change only when Carlos Baleba, a £70 million summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, came on for his first appearance just before the hour mark. His cameo offered much-needed hope for the weeks and months ahead, but United’s inability to get over the line in a game they should have won overshadowed his positive debut.
United travel to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, then head to Leeds United next weekend. After that comes another tough European assignment at Como.
After another late equalizer, Carrick insists his biggest issue is that United have been on the wrong side of fine margins so far this season. He needs that to change quickly if United are going to head in the right direction.
