Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick has acknowledged that he and his players must start winning games, with the club just above the relegation zone.
United made it nine games without a win as they suffered a 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s goals were claimed in the second half by Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer. For Rogers’ strike, the Englishman was remarkably allowed to cut through the midfield and defence before poking home.
Palmer buried the penalty, awarded after Lisandro Martinez’s elbow on Wesley Fofana during a set-piece. Martinez saw red, leaving United facing an impossible task to mount a comeback.
Here’s what Carrick said in his post-match press conference.
Uncomfortable truth
Asked about United being 17th in the league and possibly being dragged into a relegation scrap, Carrick said, “You’ve got to keep moving forward and you do that by winning games, it’s as simple as that.”
“There are no words I can say to you now that will make that any different. You’ve got to move forward and win football matches.”
On whether his players are ready for the mentality shift involved with battling to beat the drop, Carrick explained, “You can look at it like that, you can also look at it by seeing how far you can move up the league by winning some matches. That’s the way it has got to be approached, for sure.”
Team performance and Martinez’s red
Carrick said about the display, “I think the first half was as good as we have played for some time. We looked dangerous, we looked fluid and we looked like a really good team. We could and should have scored one, two or even three with the space we created – but then the game gets away from us.”
“I’ve not seen it [the red card] back, so I don’t know if it was or not. The referee has made his decision and it’s a big moment in the game, and then the second half gets away from us. It’s something we have to deal with.”
“Sometimes you get setbacks in games and you have to deal with that. The two halves of football couldn’t be further apart.”
Asked what he was telling the match official during Martinez’s sending off, Carrick replied, “It [what he said] doesn’t matter. It was a major part of the game. Losing a second goal and losing a man at that stage, it had a big influence on it, for sure.”
On United’s dreadful finishing in the first half, Carrick noted, “That’s the way it goes. That’s the swings, you’ve got to deal with it. You’ve got to capitalise when you’re on top. You get that when you’re on the kind of run that we are. Flipping it, you need to stay in the game in the other moments.”
“We didn’t capitalise on the chances we had, and we let it unravel too much when the other moments went against us.”
He continued, “You can’t play like we did, especially in the first half, and not think that. The game flipped in the second half and it got away from us. We gave away a bad goal and then it’s a lot more challenging to be in that situation with 10 men.”
| Date | Competition | H/A | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31/10/2026 | Premier League | A | Chelsea | 0-2 | L |
| 25/10/2026 | Premier League | H | Bournemouth | 0-3 | L |
| 21/10/2026 | UEFA Champions League | A | Como | 1-4 | L |
| 18/10/2026 | Premier League | A | Leeds | 1-1 | D |
| 13/10/2026 | UEFA Champions League | A | Atletico Madrid | 0-2 | L |
| 10/10/2026 | Premier League | H | Tottenham | 1-1 | D |
| 20/09/2026 | Premier League | A | Fulham | 1-1 | D |
| 16/09/2026 | League Cup | H | Brighton | 2-3 | L |
| 13/09/2026 | Premier League | H | Manchester City | 0-1 | L |
“I think the way we played, the quality of football in the first half, it definitely gives encouragement.”
“I’m just looking forward to getting the boys ready for midweek now. I think the manner of the goal we conceded, it’s never a good goal to concede. Morgan [Rogers] went right through the middle of us and, at that point, the game is in the balance. It was a big moment, for sure.”
Message to the fans
Carrick thanked the fans for supporting the team even during such a difficult spell.
“The supporters have been absolutely amazing. Not just turning up and the effort that’s needed, but they are spending their money and they have been really tested. They’ve had some really big highs over the years, but it’s easy to go the other way.”
“The way they have stuck by and supported the team, it sums up what they’re all about. We’ve got to give them something to really get their teeth into, like we did in the first half.”
“I’m not clinging to the first half, but that’s the type of performance we have to give to them. We massively appreciate them for what they are. They are giving us everything.”
United are next in action on Tuesday when they face AS Roma in the Champions League.
Featured image by Alex Pantling via Getty Images
