Carrick Backs Manchester United to Bounce Back Against Atletico Madrid
Michael Carrick has insisted Manchester United will emerge from their difficult start to the season as they prepare to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday. United travel to the Metropolitano after winning only two of their first eight matches in all competitions, leaving their head coach to acknowledge that results have fallen well short of expectations.
United seek a response in Madrid
The match against Atletico offers United an opportunity to build on their brightest result of the campaign so far, a 4-0 Champions League opening-night victory over Sabah. Their domestic form, however, has left Carrick under increasing scrutiny.
- United began the Premier League season with one win from six fixtures, a run that has left them 13th in the table.
- Defeats to Manchester City and Brighton stalled any early momentum.
- The team then drew with Fulham before a 1-1 result against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
- Against Spurs, United failed to protect their lead despite the visitors playing the final stages with 10 men, conceding the equaliser in the 92nd minute.
- They now head to Spain for a significant European test against Atletico Madrid.
Carrick said the club had anticipated much more from the opening weeks. “We hoped for a lot more and expected a lot more, but we are where we are,” he said before the trip to Madrid.
The United head coach described the current spell as “more challenging” and “stickier”, while maintaining that setbacks are inevitable when a side is being developed. He said progress requires a team to confront difficult periods rather than expect a smooth path throughout the campaign.
Confidence remains inside the squad
Carrick has sought to separate the mood around the club from the approach within the dressing room. He recognised that poor form brings calls for sweeping changes, but said neither he nor his players see the situation as one requiring panic.
He believes adversity can reveal the people committed to the project across the squad and the wider club. Carrick also acknowledged supporters’ frustration, saying United have a responsibility to give them reasons to believe again.
“You have to take on challenges if you are going to reach where you want to go,” he said. “I completely believe we will get through it.”
Asked about the pressure created by the club’s position, Carrick said it depended on how pressure was defined. United know their ambitions and believe they have the capacity to become successful, he added, but reaching that level will involve periods of struggle and difficult work.
Fine margins after last season’s revival
Carrick was appointed permanently after an impressive interim spell during the second half of the 2025-26 season. He succeeded Ruben Amorim and led an improving United side to third place in the Premier League, securing the club’s return to the Champions League.
He has pointed to preventable errors as a central reason for the current downturn. United’s past three league goals conceded have all been avoidable, in his view, with narrow moments deciding matches that might otherwise have produced a stronger return.
Despite the poor sequence, Carrick said he retains complete faith that his players can begin to turn those margins in their favour. “I have the utmost confidence in the boys that we can win games, and win a lot of games,” he said.
