Carrick Says Manchester United's Start is Not So Bad After Everton Draw

Michael Carrick believes Manchester United’s beginning to the Premier League season is not “that bad” even after they drew 2-2 with Everton on Sunday.

United looked set for a good start against newly-promoted Hull and Ipswich before facing Everton. But they have only managed to get four points from their first three matches.

“It’s not that bad,” Carrick said. “We’ve got that close to coming away with three points today, that’s football. There are moments we can deal with a bit better, but we’ll be fine.”

The club focused their limited transfer money on strengthening Carrick’s midfield with three new players. But only Youri Tielemans has played the last two matches. Andrey Santos has been on the bench while Carlos Baleba is injured.

The choice not to improve an aging defense might hurt them, as United has let in two goals in each of their games so far. They will face tougher challenges ahead, starting with Manchester City at Old Trafford next weekend.

United looked like they might win all three points on Merseyside. Bryan Mbeumo scored just after halftime and Benjamin Sesko put them ahead again in the 88th minute.

But they could not hold on as Tyrique George and Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored late goals to give Everton a point, even with their limited attacking options.

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

“I think there’s obviously things we need to get better at as a team. There have been two strikes from distance, two really good strikes from their point of view. Sometimes those shots go in the top corner and usually they don’t.”

On a brighter note, Carrick praised Marcus Rashford for his form since returning to the club. His career at United seemed finished after he lost favor with Carrick’s predecessor Ruben Amorim. This led to loans at Aston Villa and Barcelona in the last two seasons.

“He’s done ever so well since he came back. He looked really sharp again today and dangerous,” said Carrick.

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