Michael Carrick blamed poor decision-making from his players after Manchester United conceded a late equaliser in a dramatic draw with Everton
Michael Carrick pointed to poor decision-making from his players as the reason Manchester United let two points slip away in Sunday’s dramatic draw against Everton. The Red Devils looked on course for consecutive victories at the Hill Dickinson Stadium following an eventful second half.
Bryan Mbeumo initially put United ahead before Tyrique George hauled Everton back into the match. United thought they had secured all three points when Benjamin Sesko nodded home late on, but a thunderous stoppage-time equaliser from Ainsley Maitland-Niles restored parity in the dying seconds.
The result leaves Carrick’s men with a solitary win from their opening three league fixtures, raising early questions following a heavy £150m summer transfer spree.
Reflecting on the performance, the United manager admitted that questionable late-game choices from his squad made the match far harder than it should have been.
Speaking to NBC, the United boss said: “There was a lot of good things in the game for us. We played some really good football, were dangerous at times.
“For the most part we defended well as a team. The longer the game went on there were a few more balls into the box and a few decisions we made it more difficult for us when we should’ve seen it out really. We’re disappointed we didn’t come away with a win.”
Asked specifically what those mistakes were, Carrick was slightly more guarded. He replied: “I’ll keep them to myself a little bit but we should’ve seen the game out really so we’re disappointed with that.”
Carrick added: “There were two great strikes to be fair. We didn’t give them real clear chances. We defended well. They had a few bits that dropped around the edge of the box.
“We defended the box pretty well for the most part. We look to the reasons how they ended up getting those opportunities but those were really good strikes.
“There was a lot of good things. Especially early on in the game and probably towards the end not so much. We looked dangerous. I thought we caused a lot of problems. They got really good goals for different reasons and our second one should’ve been a winner.”
United are back in action at Old Trafford on Thursday as they host Azerbaijani side Sabah in their Champions League opener.
Their next Premier League game pits them against rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.