Manchester United's Late Collapse in 2-2 Draw Leaves Carrick Disappointed
Manchester United walked off with a point. It felt like something far worse.
Michael Carrick’s side twice led and twice let it slip in a chaotic 2-2 draw, capped by a stoppage-time rocket and a worrying late issue for Marcus Rashford.
Leads lost, belief dented
United could hardly have scripted a better start. Bryan Mbeumo cut inside and whipped a superb curling effort into the far corner, a strike that seemed to settle any early nerves and give Carrick’s team control.
They 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 quality with a stunning finish of his own in the 83rd minute, drilling in an equaliser from distance that punctured United’s grip on the contest.
The response was sharp. United pushed again and looked to have snatched the win when Benjamin Sesko rose to head home two minutes from time, restoring the lead and sparking celebrations on the touchline. It should have been the decisive moment.
It wasn’t.
On his debut, Ainsley Maitland-Niles strode onto a loose ball in stoppage time and sent a sensational strike into the top corner, another long-range effort that left United’s defence and goalkeeper helpless and Carrick staring at the turf.
“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. And all of the work that went into putting us in that position at different stages, 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.”
Defensive questions, long-range damage
Two goals conceded, both from distance, both unstoppable on the eye. That didn’t stop the questions.
Asked whether United’s leaky back line points to mentality or coaching, Carrick pushed back on the idea that his players lack edge.
“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.”
Carrick accepted that the late Maitland-Niles hit, in particular, flipped the entire mood of the evening.
“Listen, I think that one strike from the edge, that goes in top the corner and changes the whole feeling, that few minutes,” he said. “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 the one of those things.”
Rashford shines, then signals a problem
Amid the chaos, Rashford was one of United’s brightest sparks. Drifting in off the left, driving at defenders, combining with team-mates, he tormented the Everton back line throughout and looked close to his sharpest.
That made his withdrawal all the more surprising. With United chasing control late on, Carrick turned to Patrick Dorgu and took Rashford off.
The reason? A fitness concern.
“Yeah, he was feeling a bit of something,” Carrick revealed when asked why the England forward had been substituted.
The manager was quick to underline just how impressed he has been with Rashford’s level since his return.
“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.”
Left-side chemistry offers hope
One clear positive for Carrick came down United’s left flank. Rashford and Luke Shaw repeatedly carved through Everton, a partnership that has been built over years and looked fully in sync again.
“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,” Carrick said. “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.”
United’s attacking patterns, especially through the centre and down that left channel, offered a glimpse of what this team can be when it clicks. The problem is what happens at the other end.
Carrick rejects crisis talk
The dropped points add to a stuttering start, but Carrick refused to paint the opening weeks as a disaster.
On United's beginning to the campaign and the expectation created by last season’s strong finish, he said: “We haven't started the season that bad, to be honest.
“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.”
The frustration was obvious. So was the conviction that this is fixable.
United will not have long to dwell. They are back at Old Trafford on Thursday night, hosting Sabah in their Champions League opener, with one urgent question hanging over the build-up: can they tighten up at the back and keep Rashford fit enough to lead the charge?
