Jamie Carragher Says Man Utd Are Dropping Standards After Six Winless Games

• Jamie Carragher said Manchester United are “dropping the standards” if a draw at Leeds United counts as a decent result.
• The 1-1 draw at Elland Road stretched United’s winless run to six games, their worst sequence dating to the 2018-19 season.
• Michael Carrick told BBC Radio 5 Live he “had the headphones on” this week and has not heard the noise from Lisandro Martinez’s attack on the club’s hierarchy.

Carrick Wore the Headphones, but Carragher Heard Everything

Jamie Carragher did not like the mood around Manchester United after their draw at Leeds United. Nobody lost, so plenty of people decided the afternoon went fine. Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports, saw a club that had lowered its sights. “We are dropping the standards,” the former Liverpool and England defender said. “We shouldn’t really be talking about Manchester United like that.”

United took a point from Elland Road in a 1-1 draw. Bryan Mbeumo scored for the visitors, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin powered in the equaliser just after half-time. The result left Michael Carrick’s side without a win in six games. It is the worst run for the club dating to 2018-19, when form nosedived after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was confirmed as permanent manager. United finished the day 13th in the Premier League table, with the chance of slipping lower before the round was complete.

The Martinez Row Lands Before Kick-Off

The build-up belonged to Lisandro Martinez. Before the game, the defender criticised sporting director Jason Wilcox and the United hierarchy for failing, in his view, to recruit effectively over the summer. He later apologised for the timing and the forum of his attack, though not for the words themselves, and he started at Leeds.

Wilcox sat in the stands at Elland Road, next to chief executive Omar Berrada. Carrick told BBC Radio 5 Live he had the headphones on all week, so the noise created by Martinez passed him by. He still knows the results have to change. “It felt like a bit of a fresh start today, to be honest, with where we’re at – accepting it and doing something about it,” Carrick said.

The BBC’s Simon Stone pointed to the same fixture last season as a contrast. Ruben Amorim gave an explosive press conference after that game, and the club dismissed him within 24 hours. Carrick took the opposite route and looked for the positives.

“I’m not accepting it as everything’s great by any stretch. I’m realistic with that,” he said. “But sometimes you do struggle. Sometimes there’s a bit where you have to find a way through.” He added that he has “no doubts that we can go on a good run”.

Mbeumo Carries the Goals While the Squad Shuffles

The one clear positive is Mbeumo. The Cameroon forward now has four goals in seven Premier League games. Apart from Bruno Fernandes, who scored a hat-trick against Ipswich in August, nobody else in Carrick’s squad has scored more than one. Mbeumo was not flawless at Elland Road. He missed the target with a free header before he scored, and he failed to stop Calvert-Lewin’s equaliser.

Carrick praised the forward without reservation. “Bryan gives so much to the team,” he said. “He sacrifices so much.” Mbeumo began the season on the right of the attack while Amad Diallo was injured. When Amad returned, Mbeumo moved into the number nine role, and at Leeds he was moved again, to the left, as Fernandes played more through the middle. Former United striker Dion Dublin told BBC Sport: “When you’re in this Manchester United team at the moment, you just have to go where is best for the team.”

Striker Benjamin Sesko remains out with a shin injury. Fernandes has been a shadow of the player who broke the Premier League assists record last season, and Carrick insisted the captain is “absolutely fine”.

Diogo Dalot became the fifth different player to start at left-back this season, a sign of the lack of competition for Luke Shaw. Shaw’s fitness is in doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Como. Martinez went off at half-time with a thigh injury, and Carrick turned to full-back Noussair Mazraoui rather than Matthijs de Ligt, whose back complaint kept him out for almost 11 months.

A Point That Feels Like Progress Is the Problem

United also performed reasonably in a draw at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday after conceding inside the first minute. Neither result brought a win. That is the trap Carragher described: avoiding defeat is starting to pass for success.

Carrick has the Como trip next, with a Martinez injury to manage and a left-back puzzle still unsolved. He says the group showed unity. Carragher and the league table are waiting for the wins.