Manchester United's Draw Feels Like a Defeat, Says Carrick

Michael Carrick admitted Manchester United’s 2-2 draw felt like a defeat – and then added a fitness worry over Marcus Rashford to an already bruising night.

United twice led but twice let it slip late on, and the manager cut a frustrated figure as he tried to make sense of a game his side should have killed.

United lose grip on winning position

United’s start could hardly have been better. Bryan Mbeumo bent a superb curling effort into the far corner to give Carrick’s side the lead and a platform to control the contest.

They never did.

Everton hung in, and as the clock ticked towards the final 10 minutes, the tension grew. The warning signs were there, and then Tyrique George punished United with a brilliant equaliser in the 83rd minute, matching Mbeumo’s earlier strike with a fine finish of his own.

The response from United was instant. Benjamin Sesko rose to head home two minutes from time, a goal that looked like it would drag Carrick’s men over the line and rescue a scrappy but vital win.

It still wasn’t enough.

Debutant Ainsley Maitland-Niles stepped up in the closing moments and found the top corner with a stunning strike, another long-range effort that left United’s defence and goalkeeper helpless and their manager seething at the touchline.

Carrick didn’t hide his emotions afterwards.

“Yeah, we're disappointed, bitterly disappointed,” he said. “To be up in the position we were in, leading the game twice and so close to the end. And all of the work that went into putting us in that position at different stages, to then come away like that leaves us… yeah, it's not a great feeling.

“Feels like a defeat, bit of a cliché, the obvious thing to say at this stage, but we have taken a point and we can't ignore that, but it feels like we should have a lot more.”

Carrick defends mentality but flags defensive issue

Questions inevitably turned to United’s defending and whether the problem lies with mentality or coaching. Carrick pushed back at the idea his players lack edge.

“The mentality is there,” he insisted. “I think there's obviously things we need to get better at as a team. That's two strikes from distance, really, two really good strikes from their point of view, so sometimes they fly in the top corner, and more often than not, they probably don't, so there's a little bit of that.

“But yeah, obviously we can't ignore it. We need to concede less goals to give us a better chance of winning games, but we'll certainly look at that and keep improving.”

He pointed again to Maitland-Niles’ late leveller as the kind of moment that flips the mood of an entire night.

“I think that one strike from the edge, that goes in the top corner and changes the whole feeling, that few minutes,” Carrick said. “There's, obviously, when you look back, there'll be loads of little things that you can do a little bit differently, of course, but he's put it in the top corner from well outside the box, so sometimes it's one of those things.”

Rashford scare after standout display

Rashford had been at the heart of United’s attacking threat throughout, repeatedly driving at Everton and combining sharply down the left. His substitution for Patrick Dorgu raised eyebrows, given how dangerous he looked.

Carrick revealed there was a physical concern behind the change.

“Yeah, he was feeling a bit of something,” he said, without elaborating on the nature of the issue.

The manager was quick to praise Rashford’s form since returning to the side.

“Yeah, he's done very well. As I said during the week, he's done ever so well since he came back. I thought he looked really sharp again today and dangerous.

“That final little moment didn't quite drop for him, but nevertheless, I thought he created really good opportunities, and there was a big threat throughout the game.”

Carrick also highlighted the growing understanding between Rashford and Luke Shaw on the left flank.

“I think you're trying to build those partnerships and combinations throughout the team, really, and they've played together for quite some time now and have an understanding. And it's obviously up to us to build the understandings and combinations all the time.

“I thought we had that quite a lot through the middle of the pitch today at certain times, I thought we played some really good football through the middle of the pitch and obviously Bryan got his goal on the right, Marcus and Luke were particularly dangerous down that side.”

“We’ll be fine” – Carrick brushes off crisis talk

The draw adds to a stuttering start to the campaign and jars with the optimism created by a strong finish to last season. Carrick, though, refused to paint it as a crisis.

“We haven't started the season that bad, to be honest,” he said. “Yeah, yeah, but it's not that bad, you know? We were a lot closer to coming away with three points today. That's football; there are moments that we can deal with a bit better, but we'll be fine.”

The league frustration now gives way to European pressure. United are back at Old Trafford on Thursday, opening their Champions League campaign against Sabah, carrying both the sting of two lost points and a fresh worry over their in-form No 10.