Carrick urges Man United to be more ‘streetwise’ after Tottenham draw

Michael Carrick has challenged Manchester United to become more “streetwise” and “stubborn” after they surrendered a late lead to draw 1-1 against 10-man Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday.

United have collected just six points from their opening six Premier League matches, their lowest tally at this stage of a league campaign in 30 years. Carrick’s side were booed off at half-time and full-time after struggling against a Tottenham team that started the day bottom of the table.

“I’m not happy with the amount of points that we’ve had so far, for sure. There’s no hiding from that,” Carrick said.

“We’re more than capable of doing that. We’ve just got to be a little bit more streetwise in moments, a little bit more stubborn, and a little bit stronger and see out certain things.”

The draw extended United’s struggles to protect leads. They had also surrendered an advantage in a 2-2 draw away to Everton and were eliminated from the League Cup by Brighton last month despite taking an early 2-0 lead.

United appeared to have secured victory when Bryan Mbeumo put them ahead with 17 minutes remaining. Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur was subsequently shown a straight red card for headbutting Luke Shaw.

However, United failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage, with Dominic Solanke heading home a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a point for Tottenham.

Everton last season and Manchester City last month also won at Old Trafford after spending more than an hour with 10 men, adding to concerns over United’s ability to manage matches when opponents are reduced to 10 players.

“It’s different types of goals, but it’s definitely something that, whether 10 men or not 10 men, if we’re leading the game, we’ve got to see games out,” Carrick added.

“Whether that’s taking a ball, controlling the game a little bit more, looking after the ball better in their half and around their box and pinning them in a little bit.”

Despite going into the season without a league win, Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi praised his side’s response after dropping to 10 men.

“In that moment with 10 players, maybe we played with more courage, we played with more energy, and we changed the game again,” De Zerbi said.

De Zerbi also explained his decision to make Solanke captain, saying it was intended to demonstrate his confidence in the striker and the backing he had from his teammates.

“I wanted to put him as captain to show my confidence and the confidence of the team,” De Zerbi said, describing Solanke as “a great player.”