Manchester United suffer fresh Bournemouth defeat as Carrick future hangs in the balance

Michael Carrick’s Manchester United future is under mounting scrutiny after his side suffered a humiliating 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth, while Liverpool beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 to claim their first home win of the Premier League season.

United captain Bruno Fernandes was dropped to the bench at Old Trafford after criticising Carrick’s tactics during Wednesday’s 4-1 Champions League defeat by Italian side Como.

The decision failed to produce the response Carrick wanted. Rayan put Bournemouth ahead in the 38th minute before Marcus Tavernier doubled the visitors’ advantage before half-time.

Evanilson completed the scoring with an excellent third goal, prompting some supporters to leave the stadium. As the final whistle drew closer, the departures increased, with Fernandes still among the substitutes and United showing little threat of a comeback.

The result leaves Manchester United 16th in the table on seven points, just one above the relegation zone. They have not won in the league since beating Ipswich Town 5-2 on August 30.

Carrick was the only member of the United team and coaching staff to receive encouragement from the supporters who stayed until the end. The players were met by loud boos after another display that failed to meet expectations.

“It wasn’t a farewell from me. I’m mixed emotions, I’m feeling it for my players, they’re going through a tough spell. Some of it we can help, some of it, the situation unravels and the boys are feeling it at the moment,” Carrick told Sky Sports.

He also acknowledged that his position was uncertain.

“It’s a tough situation, there’s no hiding from it. What it looks like and what’s next I really don’t know. I will always do my best for the football club and I won’t change that now. I love what I do and I feel the responsibility. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Stand-in captain Harry Maguire said United’s players had to accept responsibility for their poor form.

“That’s the most important thing think what you can do more and what more you can contribute to the team, and if we do that we’ll get somewhere,” he told Sky Sports.

“This is a huge club and every day you have to prove why you’re wearing this badge. At the moment, we’re not doing enough as players. Michael turned our season on its head last year, and we played brilliant football and got brilliant results this season, we haven’t performed well enough as individuals.”

Liverpool responded with a more convincing performance against in-form Brighton at Anfield, ending the visitors’ run of four successive league victories.

Pascal Gross turned Florian Wirtz’s effort into his own net in the 17th minute, before Alexander Isak added a second four minutes later with a first-time finish from Bradley Barcola’s pass.

“I think today the performance was really good, really solid, against a really good team,” Isak said after scoring in his third consecutive league match.

“The first half is really what we want to be about intensity and winning balls and encountering.”

Liverpool move up to fourth on 15 points, one behind Brighton. Manchester City remain top on 21 points despite losing their first points of the season in a 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday, with Arsenal second on goal difference.

Newcastle United beat Crystal Palace 2-0, while Hull City drew 1-1 at home to Brentford.