‘That’s impossible’ – Michael Carrick warned Manchester United are doomed unless he makes change

Michael Carrick has been warned that his Manchester United will be ‘cut right open’ by good teams if they continue to play as they did against Tottenham on Saturday.

The Red Devils drew 1-1 with Spurs at Old Trafford after Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring on 73 minutes and Dominic Solanke netted an equaliser in stoppage time.

While Manchester United will be disappointed to have thrown away a lead against 10-man Tottenham – who had Rodrigo Bentancur dismissed on 78 minutes – they were also a bit fortunate to get a point.

Spurs missed a string of good chances over the game and looked the better side, despite remaining in the bottom three of the Premier League after six matches.

Gary Neville reckons Carrick has to make a change in midfield as Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo cannot compete as a pair in the middle of the pitch.

Former Liverpool and Spurs star Danny Murphy also feels that is where the problem lies, but thinks the two midfielders could have more help from their centre-backs and forward players.

The England international feels United have regressed from the second half of last season and look far too easy to play against so far this campaign.

‘There was a lethargy about Manchester United,’ Murphy said on Match of the Day. ‘This midfield can’t control games. It’s partly tactical, partly personnel, it’s not just about the two central boys, they need some help, but these are two technically gifted players who want to be on the ball going forward.

‘The central midfielders aren’t close enough to the centre-halves. You could argue the centre-halves are experienced players, they should be talking to the lads in front of them to get them back in there, but they should also be asking the wide boys to tuck in when they’re under pressure.

‘I don’t understand it, really, because we saw at the end of last season Manchester United were much more organised, much more difficult to play against.

‘Tielemans, Mainoo, they’re not able to do the yards on the big pitches against a three-man midfield. You can’t have gaps that big in the Premier League, with the quality there is in attacking players. The space is incredible and if they were playing against a more confident, competent side today they would have been beaten comfortably.’

Manchester United were more impressive under Carrick last season with Casemiro in midfield alongside Mainoo, but Tielemans is a different profile of player to the Brazilian.

Summer signing Carlos Baleba came off the bench on Saturday and may well come into the starting XI in forthcoming games.

Murphy feels that Carrick may even have to sacrifice a forward player to solidify his midfield, or the Red Devils could face some heavy defeats this season.

‘They’ve got to get back to basics, being harder to beat, close the distances,’ he said. ‘Maybe drop a forward player into midfield to create a more solid three.

‘If they play like that against good teams they’re going to get cut right open because that’s impossible.’

United have won just one of their first six Premier League games this season, picking up six points and Carrick admits things need to change fast.

‘I am massively disappointed with the result, for sure,’ he said. ‘A mixed performance. I’m not happy with the amount of points that we’ve had so far. There’s no hiding from that.

‘I think it could have been different for a couple of little things here or there, but the reality is the reality, we’ve got to accept it, you know. We need to put things in a direction, in a positive direction quite quickly, that’s pretty plain.’

The Red Devils are in Champions League action on Tuesday when they travel to Spain to take on Atletico Madrid.

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