Michael Carrick has defended Manchester United’s performance after Matheus Cunha’s late equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
United were minutes away from a third successive defeat after Lisandro Martinez’s own goal gave Fulham the lead, but Cunha’s deflected effort in the 89th minute salvaged a point for Carrick’s side.
The result leaves United with five points from five Premier League matches following a difficult opening to the campaign.
United had suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League last weekend before losing 3-2 to Brighton and Hove Albion in the League Cup third round after surrendering a two-goal lead.
Despite another disappointing result, Carrick rejected suggestions that his players lacked hunger or were too passive at Fulham.
“I didn’t think we were,” the United manager said when asked whether his side had been passive.
Carrick said United controlled much of the first half and argued that teams could not dominate every phase of a Premier League game.
He also believed his side created enough chances to win.
“I thought we should have won the game, I thought we created enough to win the game,” he said.
United finished with 29 attempts compared with Fulham’s 12, but struggled to turn their possession and opportunities into a winning performance.
Fulham took the lead shortly after the hour mark when Calvin Bassey’s shot was saved by United goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
Martinez attempted to clear the rebound but his miscued effort sent the ball into his own net.
United increased the pressure after falling behind and eventually equalised through Cunha, whose long-range effort took a deflection before beating Bernd Leno.
Cunha, however, admitted that United had failed to match Fulham’s intensity during key periods.
“After the goal, we played much better with a lot of enthusiasm and character. This needs to be from the start,” the Brazilian said.
He added that Fulham had produced more energy at the beginning of the second half.
“In the beginning of the second half they put in more energy than us and we cannot accept this,” Cunha said.
“We always play better after conceding goal, and it cannot be like this. We need to improve in every single position.”
Carrick said United could take positives from the match despite failing to secure all three points.
“We can take a lot from today. I think we can learn a lot as well. We can be better at certain things, that is pretty clear, but there were some good signs today,” he said.
The draw spared United another defeat before the international break, but left Carrick with several issues to address when his players return.
United will next face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League after the international break.
