Manchester United's Draw Feels Like Defeat as Carrick Updates on Rashford

Michael Carrick admitted Manchester United’s 2-2 draw felt like a defeat – and then dropped a worrying update on Marcus Rashford’s fitness on a night that swung from control to chaos.

United twice led and twice let it slip. They were punished at the death. And they might now be without their most dangerous forward.

United lose grip late on

Bryan Mbeumo lit up the game with a superb curling finish to give United the lead, a strike that seemed to settle Carrick’s side and quieten the tension around their shaky start to the season.

United held that advantage deep into the second half. Then the game turned.

With seven minutes of normal time left, Tyrique George stepped up and answered Mbeumo’s effort with one of his own, bending an equally impressive shot into the top corner to drag the visitors level.

United responded. The pressure told. Benjamin Sesko rose to head home two minutes from time, and it looked like the points were safe. Players celebrated like it was the winner. It should have been.

But the drama wasn’t done.

On debut, Ainsley Maitland-Niles strode onto the ball and ripped a stunning effort into the top corner, leaving United floored and Carrick staring at two lost points instead of three.

“Yeah, we’re disappointed, bitterly disappointed,” Carrick said afterwards. “To be up in the position we were in, [leading] the game twice and so close to the end… to then come away like that leaves us… yeah, it’s not a great feeling.

“Feels like a defeat, bit of a cliché, the obvious thing to say at this stage, but we have taken a point and we can’t ignore that, but it feels like we should have a lot more.”

Carrick defends mentality but admits defensive problem

United’s defensive fragility again came under the spotlight. Asked if the leaks at the back were down to mentality or coaching, Carrick pushed back on the idea of a soft mindset but accepted standards must rise.

“The mentality is there,” he insisted. “I think there’s obviously things we need to get better at as a team. That’s two strikes from distance, really, two really good strikes from their point of view, so sometimes they fly in the top corner, and more often than not, they probably don’t, so there’s a little bit of that.

“But yeah, obviously we can’t ignore it. We need to concede less goals to give us a better chance of winning games, but we’ll certainly look at that and keep improving.”

He pointed again to the quality of Maitland-Niles’ late equaliser.

“I think that one strike from the edge, that goes in top the corner and changes the whole feeling, that few minutes. There’s, obviously, when you look back, there’ll be loads of little things that you can do a little bit differently, of course, but he’s put it in the top corner from well outside the box, so sometimes it’s one of those things.”

Rashford worry after electric display

If the scoreline hurt, Rashford’s situation will concern United just as much.

The forward was a constant threat, repeatedly driving at the Everton back line and combining dangerously down the left. His substitution for Patrick Dorgu raised eyebrows given how influential he had been.

Carrick revealed there was a physical issue behind the call.

“Yeah, he was feeling a bit of something,” the United boss said when asked why Rashford had been withdrawn.

He praised Rashford’s form since returning to the side.

“Yeah, he’s done very well. As I said during the week, he’s done ever so well since he came back. I thought he looked really sharp again today and dangerous.

“That final little moment didn’t quite drop for him, but nevertheless, I thought he created really good opportunities, and there was a big threat throughout the game.”

Carrick also highlighted the understanding between Rashford and Luke Shaw down the left flank.

“I think you’re trying to build those partnerships and combinations throughout the team, really, and they’ve played together for quite some time now and have an understanding. And it’s obviously up to us to build the understandings and combinations all the time.

“I thought we had that quite a lot through the middle of the pitch today at certain times, I thought we played some really good football through the middle of the pitch and obviously Bryan [Mbeumo] got his goal on the right, Marcus and Luke, were particularly dangerous down that side.”

Carrick plays down talk of crisis

The dropped points add to the scrutiny after a stuttering opening to the campaign, but Carrick resisted any talk of crisis.

“We haven’t started the season that bad, to be honest,” he said. “Yeah, yeah, but it’s not that bad, you know? We were a lot closer to coming away with three points today. That’s football; there are moments that we can deal with a bit better, but we’ll be fine.”

United do not have long to dwell on what slipped away. They are back at Old Trafford on Thursday, hosting Sabah in their Champions League opener, with a defence to tighten and a key forward to assess.