Dubai: It was another lacklustre performance from Manchester United, who were spared an embarrassing defeat by a deflected Matheus Cunha strike that earned them a 1-1 draw against a struggling Fulham at Craven Cottage.
After a successful interim managerial period for Michael Carrick last season which saw United finish third in the table, the board decided to stick with the former player, offering him the role on a full-time basis.
But the new season hasn’t started as he hoped it would, especially in the Premier League where United have won just one of their opening five games.
Heading to Fulham on Sunday, Carrick’s side came up against a Fulham team who were still hunting for their first win of the campaign, so it was seen as a real opportunity for United to enter the international break on a high.
However, their showing in West London lacked fight, something which left a bad taste in the mouth of Carrick’s former teammate and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
The former United full-back was particularly disappointed with team’s second half performance as they fell a goal behind following an awful mishap in defence.
“I’ve watched Man United since the age of five and that’s the worst 15 minutes I’ve ever seen,” Neville said.
“Absolutely pathetic. I’ve never seen such a lack of effort. What must Carrick be thinking?”
Perhaps the most concerning for Carrick was the attitude of his players, who looked uninterested at times with Fulham covering over six more kilometres than the United team across the game.
Even though the lack of urgency from the United players was glaringly obvious to see, Carrick still defended his team in his post-match press conference, something which Neville didn’t agree with.
He said: “Michael has got to stop defending them. I get why he’s defending them, he is loyal and wants his players to work for him. There is a long way left in the season.
“I called them mannequins. I have never seen a Manchester United team, for 15 minutes, walk around as much as that. No alerts, not on your toes, you should always be on your toes, there was no shifting up two or three yards. Just walking when Fulham were in possession.
“There needs to be a rebalance. I wish he could play the attacking players but they are going to kill him defensively.”
Neville added: “Not running is the only thing that I will call a disgrace.”
The draw made it United’s joint-lowest points return after five matches in the Premier League and means they will spend the international break in the bottom half of the table.
