Manchester, England — Manchester United manager Michael Carrick emphasized the need for his team to become more “streetwise” and resilient after the club squandered a late lead to draw 1-1 against a 10-man Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday. The result leaves United with just six points from their first six Premier League matches, marking their lowest points total at this stage of a campaign in three decades.
United took the lead in the 73rd minute through Bryan Mbeumo, only for Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur to receive a straight red card for a headbutt on Luke Shaw minutes later. Despite playing with a numerical advantage, United conceded a stoppage-time equalizer headed in by Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke, who was handed the captain’s armband by Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi before the game.
Carrick voiced frustration over his team’s inability to maintain a winning position, highlighting the need to improve their game management during critical moments. “We need to steer things in a positive direction quite quickly,” he 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 underwhelming performance came after previous setbacks, including United’s 2-2 draw at Everton on September 6—when they also relinquished a lead—and their elimination from the League Cup by Brighton, despite establishing an early 2-0 advantage. Fans expressed their displeasure through boos at halftime and again at full time, reflecting growing impatience with United’s inconsistent form.
Carrick underscored the importance of controlling the game, especially when holding a lead, regardless of whether the opposition is reduced to 10 men. “If we’re leading the game, we’ve got to see games out,” he said. “It’s a game we should kill off. And we didn’t.”
Tottenham remain without a league victory this season but drew encouragement from their late rally, especially after experiencing a numerical disadvantage. Manager Roberto De Zerbi praised his team’s increased energy and character following Bentancur’s dismissal. “In that moment, with 10 players, maybe we played with more courage, we played with more energy and we changed, again, the game,” he said. “For a long time Tottenham played without this blood, this character and, now I am the coach, I want to see this character every game.”
De Zerbi’s decision to appoint Solanke as captain was described as a move to demonstrate confidence in the striker, who scored his first away league goal since April 2025. “I wanted to put him as captain to show my confidence, and the confidence of the team,” De Zerbi added. “He is a great player, and I wanted to show how important I believe he is to this team.”