Manchester United
Carrick urges patience as Mainoo continues to impress after Spurs victory
Carrick urges patience as Kobbie Mainoo impresses in United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in form
Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick said Kobbie Mainoo still has room to grow despite another strong showing in the 2–0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Carrick warned that pundits and supporters should “not expect too much from him all the time,” while also signalling confidence in the 20-year-old’s upward trajectory.
Much attention has followed Ruben Amorim’s decision to sideline Mainoo during his 14-month reign at Old Trafford. Amorim’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system did not play to the young midfielder’s strengths and there was a real possibility Mainoo could leave the club, either permanently or on loan. Mainoo failed to start a single Premier League game this season while Amorim was in charge.
Carrick restored Mainoo immediately on returning to a conventional 4-2-3-1, which has allowed Bruno Fernandes more freedom further forward. “There’s no doubt of Kobbie’s ability and what he can bring,” Carrick enthused in his post-match briefing, before urging expectations to be tempered. “He’s still so young and let’s be careful of not putting so much right on his shoulders and expecting so much of him. He’s still learning the game. Because he’s had the big high and then obviously didn’t play for a bit, it’s easy to think he’s a lot older and more experienced probably than he is.
But credit to him, he’s come right in and find his rhythm with football, which is not easy after a period of time out and he’s found that physically and mentally. We know he can handle the ball and hopefully over time, I’m sure he’ll keep improving. We’ve got to be patient and not expect too much from him all the time.”
Playing alongside Casemiro, Mainoo is picking up aspects of the game by proximity, Carrick added: he is “picking things up just by being next to him,” and is “probably not even realising” it. Before Cristian Romero’s sending off had given United control, Mainoo had already won six of the 11 ground duels he contested, recovered possession repeatedly and moved the ball quickly. He completed 10 vertical passes into the final third, created four chances and delivered the first-time pull back from the corner routine that led to United’s opener, allowing Bryan Mbeumo to score into Guglielmo Vicario’s far corner.
On Mainoo’s future Carrick said: “There’s definitely more to come from him, that’s just the age he’s at, the stage he’s at in his career you’d like to think, he’s just starting out really essentially,” and added: “He has got so much experience under his belt in big games and pressured situations, which is going to help him develop learning the game.
I’m really conscious that he’s come in, he’s played the four games and he’s found his rhythm. Young players, they have times when they’re up and then they might have a little dip. That’s not all of a sudden he’s good or he’s a poor player, Kobbie is what he is. Managing that’s really important, especially for younger players and understanding that. He’s doing fantastic at the moment, he’s having a really big impact on games, and we’ll keep working with him and helping him, trying to keep improving him as well as we go.”
Debate has already started over whether Mainoo will be in England’s 2026 World Cup plans. A starter in the final of Euro 2024 aged 19 and the youngest to play a semi-final four days earlier, he has 10 international caps but has not featured for the Three Lions since that year largely because of his reduced role at Manchester United. “He’s lacking minutes. I don’t think he lacks anything else,” England manager Thomas Tuchel previously said of Mainoo.
Fulham
Cunha Salvages United at Fulham, But Larger Issues Remain
United rescued a point at Fulham, but the performance and stats left fresh concerns before the break.
Manchester United avoided a second straight Premier League defeat with a late equaliser at Fulham, but the result did little to quiet the concern around their start to the 2026/27 season.
For much of the afternoon, it seemed as if United were heading for consecutive league losses for the first time in more than a year, dating back to the closing stages of 2024/25. The match changed in the 89th minute when Matheus Cunha struck from distance, only for the effort to be heavily deflected off David Affengruber and beyond Bernd Leno.
The point leaves United on five from five, a tally that matches their joint-lowest at this stage of a Premier League campaign, alongside 2014/15. They will remain 12th during the international break before returning on Oct. 10 against Tottenham Hotspur, who are bottom of the table.
Gary Neville, speaking on Sky Sports, offered a blunt assessment of the period after half-time, describing it as the “worst” 15 minutes he’s ever seen from any Manchester United team. United’s tempo, urgency and willingness to run were all questioned, with the side having covered almost 7 kilometers less than Fulham by the 73rd minute.
Senne Lammens kept United in touch in the first half with four saves, including quick stops to deny Joshua King and Sander Berge. He later could have done better when Fulham went ahead, as his parry from Calvin Bassey’s shot created the opening for the goal.
Marcus Rashford’s return has been viewed positively in general, yet this match underlined the gap between effort and end product. In 77 minutes, he led United for touches in the opposition box and shots, but still left without a goal contribution. Across six appearances this season, he has yet to score or assist.
There was also curiosity over United’s all-blue away kit, worn competitively for the first time on Sunday after only appearing in preseason.
Manchester United
Carrick welcomes uncertainty as United search for clearer rhythm
Carrick says United’s lack of identity can make them harder to read, not easier to stop.
Michael Carrick has brushed off criticism over Manchester United’s supposed lack of identity, arguing that it can actually work in the team’s favour if opponents cannot work them out.
United have made a mixed start to the new season. They failed to score in two of their opening four Premier League matches, have not kept a clean sheet in the division, and have taken only two wins from six games in all competitions. Their recent Carabao Cup exit has only intensified the discussion around what Carrick is trying to build.
But the manager is not troubled by the debate. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Fulham, he made clear that unpredictability is part of the plan.
“I quite like the fact that someone can’t work out our identity, to be honest. That means you’re unpredictable. From an attacking sense, we want to be unpredictable,” the manager told Sky Sports in the buildup to Sunday’s important encounter against Fulham.
“We don’t want people to be able to read what we are going to do next or what our main strength is. If we can do a good number of things well and attack from a number of areas, I’d rather have a team that does that. We’ve attacked well since January, scored a good number of goals and being unpredictable is a good thing.”
United remain in a period of development, with the club still aiming for the Premier League title by next season as part of a wider ambition to reclaim the trophy during, or before, its 150th anniversary year in 2027-28.
That sense of growth was also reflected in Carrick’s comments on Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, both of whom started the Carabao Cup defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion. Yoro is 20, Heaven is 19, and Carrick said he would not make any rushed judgments after that result at Old Trafford.
“I think they’ll learn from different experiences and they’ve done particularly well and they’re in a really good spot, two young players that have got really good futures,” the manager told reporters.
“So unfortunately you go through times in football and you have some good spells and sometimes you learn a lot from the things that didn’t go so well. But I wouldn’t isolate them at all from the other night.”
He added of Yoro: “Leny is 20, and again in context, he’s got a fantastic future ahead of him and a lot of potential. He’s learning, he’s developing,” Carrick stressed. “To be at this club and play as a center back at such a young age is a challenging position. It’s one that he can do for sure, it’s one that Ayden can do for sure.
Fulham
Šeško ruled out as United wait on injury assessment
Šeško missed United’s visit to Fulham while Carrick waits on an injury assessment.
Benjamin Šeško was absent from Manchester United’s squad for the trip to Fulham after Michael Carrick confirmed the striker is being assessed over an unspecified injury.
Carrick had managed Šeško carefully at the start of the season, using him as a substitute in United’s first four Premier League matches. The 23-year-old was then fit to start the club’s opening Champions League game of the campaign, where he scored in the win over Sabah FK, and he also featured in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Earlier this month, Šeško had sounded upbeat about his recovery, saying: “I think waiting a little bit longer was a great decision, and now it’s healed, so it’s perfect,” Šeško insisted earlier this month.
Carrick’s latest update offered little clarity on the situation. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “He pulled up after the game the other day with a little bit of pain, so we’ll have to see how he is,” was all the Manchester United manager would offer.
In Šeško’s absence, Matheus Cunha kept his place through the middle. That decision left some fans frustrated, particularly with Amad Diallo unavailable on the right and Bryan Mbeumo regularly deployed there instead of being used as a central option.
Cunha brings link play and combines neatly with Bruno Fernandes, but he does not offer the same direct running that Mbeumo provides. Even so, Fulham’s tendency to leave space for opponents this season means United may still find openings without Šeško.
There is also anticipation around Carlos Baleba, who has still not made his Manchester United debut. Signed for $93.7 million (£70 million) and unveiled almost a month ago, he arrived from Brighton with an ankle injury. His first appearance could be confirmed at Craven Cottage.
