Michael Carrick makes his feelings known after painful AC Milan defeat

2

Manchester United were thrashed 2-4 by Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan at the Tarczyński Arena in Wroclaw on Saturday.

Losing to United’s former manager hurt, but what was even more disappointing was the fact that the loss came in the final friendly before the Premier League season starts.

The performance raised many questions about the lack of midfield and defensive reinforcements this summer.

Youri Tielemans struggled on his first start alongside Andrey Santos, while Luke Shaw was abysmal down the left.

No excuses from Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick did not want to offer any excuses, but he did say that certain players were playing for the first time and rustiness was inevitable.

The head coach was candid enough to admit that his team were well below-par in Poland, and they have a lot to work on in the training pitch next week.

“We’re disappointed today,” he told MUTV after the game. “We didn’t play well. So there’s reasons for that in some ways. We need to learn from it and we need to improve. Some of the boys were playing some of their first minutes, and there’s different reasons anyway.

“No excuses. We just didn’t play very well today. But, in the whole, we’re ready for next week. I think a lot of the boys will be better for the minutes.”

Places up for grabs

Michael Carrick refused to divulge any secrets about his playing XI for the opener away at Hull City, but he did reveal that training next week could change his mind over certain positions.

“We’ve got a good squad, so there’s decisions to be made. Of course there is. And we’ve got a good week’s training this week as well to get some more work in. So we’ll be ready for next week.”

The plan now is for the players to give their all next week and hope to earn a spot in the starting XI, or at least a place in the matchday squad.

“The boys will have a day off tomorrow and then in for the rest of the week. Five days of training in different ways. Sometimes it’s a little bit harder, sometimes it’s a little bit more of a recovery, but we’ll work through the week and be better for it.

Training schedule for next week

“I think we look forward to it again, having the whole squad back home, back at Carrington, and look forward to the start.”

Fans will be hoping for a vastly improved show when the real action kicks off, and for INEOS to loosen their purse strings before the transfer window slams shut.