Michael Carrick urges Manchester United response after defeat at Newcastle

• Manchester United lost 2-1 to Newcastle United at St James’ Park
• Michael Carrick says the team must learn lessons before facing Aston Villa
• United remain third in the Premier League despite the setback

Michael Carrick has urged Manchester United to respond positively after their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United, insisting the team must learn quickly before their next crucial fixture.

The loss at St James’ Park ended Carrick’s unbeaten start as United manager and left him reflecting on what went wrong after his side were beaten by Newcastle despite the hosts playing with 10 men.

“We are bitterly disappointed,” Carrick said. “It hurts. We came here in good shape. The way it panned out is very disappointing. There is no two ways about that.”

Carrick has overseen an impressive start since replacing Ruben Amorim, winning six of his first seven matches in charge. However, recent performances have shown signs of decline even as results continued to arrive.

United were fortunate to salvage a late draw against West Ham United and produced limited attacking moments in a narrow victory at Everton. Against Crystal Palace, the turning point came only after Matheus Cunha won a penalty that also led to a red card.

Injuries have also created difficulties for Carrick. Defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez were unavailable, while Mason Mount, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu were also absent.

During the match, Casemiro and Luke Shaw were forced off after playing two demanding games within four days, highlighting the squad’s limited depth.

The decisive moment came when William Osula scored the winner after beating Tyrell Malacia, securing a dramatic victory for Newcastle.

Despite the defeat, Manchester United remain third in the Premier League table and are still in a strong position to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Rivals have also dropped points, with Liverpool losing to the league’s bottom side and Aston Villa suffering a heavy defeat to Chelsea.

Carrick now has 11 days to prepare his team before hosting Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

“We need to learn from this,” Carrick said. “There is no sense in not learning lessons and understanding how tonight happened.

“We can’t lose sight of the bigger picture though. We have put ourselves into a position that can be really exciting.

“We’ve got to be positive going into the next game and look forward to it because there is a lot to play for.”