Michael Carrick called the critical response in the week since Manchester United lost their opening match of the 2026–27 season “easy and lazy,” claiming the conclusions drawn about the flaws in the defeat to Hull City were overly simplified.
United were surprisingly beaten at MKM Stadium against the newly promoted Tigers last weekend, losing goals to set-piece plays in either half. Carrick’s team, now seeking to set things right with a home opener against Ipswich on Sunday afternoon, was accused of lacking “passion.”
Carrick was internally fuming with the result immediately after the final whistle in East Yorkshire but maintained an outward calmness. By the time he faced reporters again in the buildup to hosting Ipswich, also newly promoted, the manager appeared frustrated by the narrative.
“It’s one game. Just because we lose a game doesn’t just mean leadership [is responsible]. I got ‘passion’ thrown at me after the game—it’s not just that. You lose two set plays like we did, it changes the game,” he said, also insisting there is “enough leadership in our dressing room.”
Carrick: Win or Lose, We Don’t Get Carried Away
Carrick stressed that winning or losing is “not just because you try or you don’t try” in the match.
“There’s all sorts of different reasons. I don’t have to give you the total reason, because we know what we’re trying to improve on. I think it’s so easy and lazy ... a team loses a game, everything’s wrong: this is wrong, this is wrong, not trying enough, not enough passion.
“We’ve probably played like that [against Hull] and won games, and everyone goes: ‘What a great team, what a great coach, what a great load of players,’ when we find a way to win 1–0.
“We’ve got to dig deeper than that and understand the details of it. And we don’t get carried away when we win certain games because we know it’s not been perfect.”
Busy Fixture List Limits Time for Reflection
Manchester United don’t have a lot of free time between matches, even at this very early stage of the season, to actively reflect on what might have gone wrong. Already, the focus after a game goes from initial recovery quickly into prepping the next one.
In the month between the season beginning in Hull on Aug. 22 and the first international break towards the end of September, Carrick’s team will have played seven times in four weeks across three different competitions—Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup.
United’s first Champions League match in three years comes on Sept. 10 when debut qualifiers Sabah travel to Old Trafford all the way from Azerbaijan. There is a Carabao Cup third-round tie against Brighton & Hove Albion the following midweek, with the first derby of the season against Manchester City sandwiched between the two on Sept. 13.
Man Utd Fixtures Up to September/October International Break
| Date | Fixture | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 22, 2026 | Hull 2–0 Man Utd | Premier League |
| Aug. 30, 2026 | Man Utd vs. Ipswich | Premier League |
| Sept. 6, 2026 | Everton vs. Man Utd | Premier League |
| Sept. 10, 2026 | Man Utd vs. Sabah | Champions League |
| Sept. 13, 2026 | Man Utd vs. Man City | Premier League |
| Sept. 16, 2026 | Man Utd vs. Brighton | Carabao Cup |
| Sept. 20, 2026 | Fulham vs. Man Utd | Premier League |
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