Michael Carrick says Manchester United “should kill off” games like the 1-1 Spurs draw. Solanke’s stoppage-time equaliser cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s goal at Old Trafford.
Image credit: Manchester United official website. Michael Carrick at Old Trafford.
Carrick on the Spurs draw: United should have killed it off
Carrick, United’s head coach, said the team showed “spirit, belief and fight” to go 1-0 up. However, they did not find a way to finish the match off. United turned the ball over too easily at times, so the game stayed open. Carrick called the goal they conceded “a bad goal”.
He listed what could have been better: taking care of the ball, being “really stubborn in possession” and pinning Tottenham in. Instead, United lost the ball too easily at times, which left the game open. Carrick said the late concession “sums things up”.
United were “very disappointed” not to come away with the win, he said.
Carrick on Mbeumo
Carrick praised Mbeumo after his goal in the Spurs draw and called it “a fantastic finish again”. The forward has played different roles for United, he noted. Because of that, the more goals he scores, the better for the team.
Spurs draw: Carrick on the second-half response
Carrick also looked back on how the match unfolded. “We definitely had a tough spell in the game early on,” he said. “The positive is that we worked through that, and the second half was much better.” That improvement made the late equaliser harder to take, because United had done enough to build a lead.
Another late goal conceded
Carrick said it was “another late goal” for United to concede in the Spurs draw. It has happened in different ways when they have led games, he said. United must be “more stubborn and ruthless” to see games out, and he described it as a moment that could have gone differently. Carrick said United “can defend that whole phase a lot better as a team”, so the lesson was about game management as much as the goal itself.
For the full account, see our Man Utd 1-1 Spurs report. The quotes come from Carrick’s interview on United’s official website.
