Michael Carrick admits Manchester United have “no excuses” after AC Milan defeat

• Manchester United suffered a 4-2 preseason defeat to AC Milan in Wroclaw despite taking the lead twice.
• Michael Carrick said United did not play well and must learn from the defeat, while pointing to the need for players to gain minutes ahead of the new season.
• Marcus Rashford made his first appearance for United since December 2024 after returning from his loan spell at Barcelona.

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick said there were “no excuses” after his side suffered a 4-2 preseason defeat to AC Milan in Wroclaw.

United took the lead twice against the Serie A side, who are now managed by former Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim, but conceded three goals in quick succession during the second half.

The defeat was only United’s second in six preseason matches, with Carrick’s side having also beaten Atlético Madrid and drawn 1-1 with European champions Paris Saint-Germain during their preparations.

“On the whole, [preseason has] been very good, I think there are a lot of positives to take from it,” Carrick told MUTV.

“We’re disappointed with today. We didn’t play well today, so there’s reasons for that. In some ways, we need to learn from it, we need to improve, some of the boys playing some of their first minutes.”

Carrick refused to use the number of players gaining preseason minutes as an excuse for the performance.

“There’s different reasons anyway, no excuses, we just didn’t play very well today,” he added.

Harry Maguire gave United the lead after just over 100 seconds, heading home early in the match.

AC Milan responded through Samuel Chukwueze, who equalised after arriving at the back post.

United restored their advantage after the interval when Patrick Dorgu found the net, but Milan produced a decisive spell to take control of the match.

Alphadjo Cissè levelled before Gonçalo Ramos and Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored in quick succession to complete the comeback.

Marcus Rashford made his first appearance in a Manchester United shirt since December 2024 when he came on in the 60th minute.

Rashford returned to United following the conclusion of his loan spell at Barcelona and was one of six players introduced during the match.

Carrick said the minutes gained by several members of his squad would prove valuable before the start of the competitive campaign.

“A lot of the boys will be better for the minutes,” he said.

“We’ve got a good squad, so there’s decisions to be made.”

United now have limited time to address the problems exposed against Milan before their Premier League opener.

Carrick’s side begin their league campaign on Aug. 22 away to newly promoted Hull.

The defeat leaves United with one final preseason result to assess as they prepare for their first competitive match of the season.