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After 24 days without playing, United finally returned to action at Old Trafford against Leeds. Rust was always likely, but the extent of it was unknown and Leeds capitalized on it ruthlessly.
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The visitors took the lead after five minutes thanks to Noah Okafor, who pushed the ball after some woeful defending by United. Okafor doubled Leeds’ lead on the half-hour with a fine effort as United failed to clear their lines.
United’s night unraveled further after the break when Martinez was sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair. Tierney stopped play, turned to the VAR monitor and then returned to show the Argentine a red card for violent conduct.
Casemiro halved the deficit with a magnificent header and set the stage for a fierce end to the match, but Leeds managed to hold on for three points.
Carrick, who has now suffered his second defeat since temporarily replacing Ruben Amorim, spoke to sky sports after the final whistle and made no secret of his frustration with Tierney’s officiating.
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Furious Carrick
Carrick said: “We didn’t start the game particularly well. We obviously conceded when Leny Yoro takes a forearm hit to the back of the head and they score the first goal.”
“They didn’t decide to overturn that decision. That was a big moment in the game. We didn’t have the rhythm, we didn’t click, we had some moments, but it wasn’t there for a lot of the first half.”
“But in the second half, I thought about the guys for the way they did it, they stayed positive and fought to get something out of it after another shocking, shocking decision to send off (Lisandro Martínez). Two games in a row we’ve had decisions like that go against us, but that was one of the worst I’ve ever seen.”
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He further said about the red card: “You can elbow Leny Yoro for the first goal, obviously angling your arm, you can throw your arm into Martinez’s face and then when he loses his balance because of that, he’s half fighting, half touching the back of his hair, which pulls the bubble to get out.”
“I don’t even know what it looks like. It’s not a tug, it’s not a tug, it’s not aggressive. You touch it and they throw you out.”
“The worst of all is that they send him to revoke it, a clear and obvious mistake. Shocking.”
Carrick continued: “The boys tried. It’s football, sometimes you don’t have good moments in games and sometimes you do. We know we can be better and do things better. Obviously we’ll look at it.”
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“The second half could have taken something out of the game, I’m pleased with the way we did it. We talked at half-time about getting the next goal and trying to win the game. Obviously it was more difficult when you were a man down.”
Asked if the long break had an impact on his team’s performance, Carrick replied: “It doesn’t make any difference to be honest.”
“This is a game. We will certainly analyze it and look to improve. We have another great game, an important game next week and a great end to the season.”
“We are in a very good position. Tonight is disappointing, we didn’t want to lose and we didn’t want the referee’s decisions to be so bad against us, but we keep going. We have a great end to the season and there is a lot to be positive about.”
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Next Saturday United will be in action when they visit Chelsea.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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