Man United boss Carrick suggests draw vs Leeds a step forward despite poor form

Michael Carrick’s Manchester United has only a single win in the Premier League this season. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Manchester United (MUFC) has now gone six games without a win, the latest coming away from home at Elland Road against rival Leeds United (LUFC) on Sunday. In desperate need of a victory, MUFC could only manage a 1-1 draw against LUFC.

Far from a vintage first half, Man Utd still took the lead with a Bryan Mbeumo goal in the 35th minute. Leeds restored parity just six minutes into the second half with an instinctive strike from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Michael Carrick, the Red Devils' manager, believes the performance in the match was a “step forward’ for the team as they showed resilience. However, this just showcases how far the expectations have fallen for the red club from Manchester, as they still remain in the bottom half of the English Premier League table in 13th.

Carrick spoke about the team’s discipline and structural solidity as positive outcomes from the match, as well as the togetherness they showed under the pressure of playing at Leeds. The lack of creativity and quality on the ball is still a deep concern for a team that yearns for fluidity in attack.

“Maybe if you talk about top quality, maybe it wasn’t top, ​top quality I think we are ‌capable of playing. With the results we’ve had, we weren’t quite flowing, but there’s enough in there to take from it,” said Carrick

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As Carrick believes, the performance was better compared to the previous two matches against Tottenham Hotspur, where they drew after leading, and Atletico Madrid, where, despite a decent performance, they were second-best.

“It’s a bit more than just effort. It is the way you go about it. The plan. The responsibilities. The roles. I thought the boys took that responsibility on really well for the most part,” said the former United midfielder.

United needed a morale-boosting win, however, like the previous Premier League match, the team squandered the lead under limited pressure. Carrick believes MUFC were tough to break down and that the players stuck to their roles and responsibilities well.

Lisandro Martinez’s post-match comments after Atletico Madrid brought further issues for Carrick to deal with, and he had to focus on reuniting the squad before the game.

“I suppose you’re looking at the togetherness, the spirit, the unit. I don’t ‌doubt that within the group,” he said. “The way that we went about it today gives me a lot of belief in us moving ​forward.”

United has the chance to correct its form as it heads to Como for a Champions League game on Wednesday.