Carrick sees positives as Manchester United draw at Fulham

Michael Carrick believes Manchester United can build on their 1-1 draw at Fulham, despite a disappointing result leaving them with only one win from their opening five Premier League matches.

United appeared to be heading for a third successive defeat after Lisandro Martinez accidentally diverted the ball into his own net to give Fulham the lead in the 63rd minute. Matheus Cunha’s deflected shot then earned United a late equaliser and a point.

Carrick’s side now face an important period of work during the international break, with clear improvements still required. United struggled to match Fulham’s intensity for extended periods, but Carrick disagreed that his players had been passive.

“I didn’t think we were,” he said when asked whether United had lacked aggression. “We controlled a lot of the first half. It’s the Premier League and you will have spells where you don’t have it all your own way.

“To expect total dominance for the whole game, I don’t think anyone gets that in this league.”

United had already lost to Manchester City in the Premier League and Brighton in the League Cup, meaning another defeat would have intensified the pressure on Carrick. He was encouraged, however, by the way his team responded after falling behind.

“I thought we should have won the game, I thought we created enough to win the game,” he said.

“The boys could have thought ‘it is one of those days’ but I really like the reaction. We nearly won it in the end.

“We came to get the win of course, the way it panned out and the way we finished is the positive we take from it.”

Carrick accepted that his team still had areas to address, but said the performance contained evidence of progress.

“I think we can take a lot from today. I think we can learn a lot as well. We can be better at certain things, that is pretty clear, but there were some good signs today.”

He also said the run of results was not affecting him personally, although he acknowledged United’s primary objective was to start winning matches.

“What bothers me is that we want better results,” Carrick said. “We’re going to have a spell where it’s not quite going for you.

“We don’t think things are perfect by any means. We need to win football matches.”

Cunha offered a more critical assessment of United’s display. The Brazil forward felt the visitors only played with sufficient urgency after conceding and warned that approach could not continue.

“After the goal, we played much better with a lot of enthusiasm and character. This needs to be from the start,” Cunha said.

“In the beginning of the second half they put in more energy than us and we cannot accept this.

“We always play better after conceding a goal, and it cannot be like this. We need to improve in every single position.”

United’s next match will be against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday, October 10, after the international break.