Manchester United rescued a point late on as they secured a 1-1 draw against Fulham away at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Lisandro Martinez’s calamitous own goal was cancelled out by a late Matheus Cunha deflected effort, as the Red Devils head into the international break in 12th position in the Premier League table.
Heading into the game, Michael Carrick was under immense pressure, with United having won only one league game so far.
INEOS’ abysmal approach in the summer window is a huge reason why the 20-time English league champions are in this mess.
Carrick’s lack of training intensity
But, the head coach needs to be doing a lot better with the players at his disposal.
Once again, the Cottagers looked well up for the contest as they played out from the back with ease and easily bypassed the haphazard United press.
As for the visitors, they were content to jog around and hardly showed any real urgency with the ball at their feet.
United’s poor fitness was once again on show, as the hosts outran United, both in terms of distance and sprints. Last season, as an interim, his choice to hand more off days and less workload to his players worked a treat.
However, this season, the players needed to be put through the grinder to improve their physical fitness, but that has not been the case during training.
No bravery from Carrick
Despite going a goal down, the former United midfielder refused to make a change until the 77th minute.
Instead of being brave and throwing on Shea Lacey, he opted to play it safe and brought on the ineffective Joshua Zirkzee while changing the midfield and full-back positions.
It is clear that what worked for Carrick last season is not having the same effect this time around, and unfortunately, the head coach seems to lack the tactical acumen needed to escape from this mess.
A draw should not be enough to change INEOS’ minds during the international break. However, the co-owners and players are equally hapless, so fans should not hold their breath.
Feature image George Wood via Getty Images
