Michael Carrick's Manchester United have conceded two goals in half of his 20 games in charge and the defensive trend must improve.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 06: Michael Carrick, Manager of Manchester United, dejected after the Premier League 2026/27 matc
Michael Carrick dejected after Man United's draw at Everton (Image: Getty Images)
On the surface, Michael Carrick has strengthened Manchester United's defensive record. Having shipped 1.50 goals per match under Erik ten Hag and 1.29 under Ruben Amorim, the figure has dropped to 1.15 across Carrick's 20 games at the helm. That remains a modest sample size, and this season's evidence raises concerns, with Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton all breaching the United backline to score twice in 90 minutes.
The two goals Everton netted at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday mean United have now conceded twice in the same match in half of Carrick's matches in charge. Yet they have only suffered three defeats during that spell, and alongside the goals let in, there have been six clean sheets to their name. This makes them a notoriously tricky side to call. When keeping a clean sheet or conceding just once, United have claimed eight victories and two draws.
When conceding twice, they have still managed to win on five occasions and draw twice, suffering three losses.
Such a positive record when leaking so many goals seems unlikely to be sustained, and Carrick appeared to acknowledge following the Merseyside draw that his squad must shore up defensively if they are to push on this campaign.
"There's obviously things we need to get better at as a team," said Carrick. "We obviously can't ignore it. We need to concede less goals to give us a better chance of winning games, but we'll certainly look at that and keep improving."
If anything, Carrick's United have performed remarkably well to accumulate the points tally they have while shipping two goals in numerous matches.
Moving forward, netting at least three times when conceding twice isn't sustainable 50 per cent of the time.
The task facing Carrick now is to identify why this pattern continues and determine the solution. Against Ipswich and Everton, he fielded what is generally considered his strongest back four: Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw.
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 30: Carlos Baleba of Manchester United on the pitch before the Premier League 2026/27 match between
Carlos Baleba can help address Man United's problems defensively (Image: Getty Images)
Martinez's defensive displays have been inconsistent, though his distribution remains outstanding, while the collective defending has been substandard. United were lacklustre for Everton's opener and disorganised for the second.
They let in two goals from crosses against Hull and once more from a wide position against Ipswich. Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans have impressed in midfield, with Mainoo particularly strong defensively last week, though there are three players who could still help fix United's defensive problems.
There may be an improvement when Carlos Baleba returns to full fitness and can provide a more physical presence in the middle of the park, while also covering more territory than his less mobile midfield team-mates.
Matthijs de Ligt is also pushing for a return after the international break and he could bring something different at centre-back.
Leny Yoro has seen his playing time come at right-back this campaign, though he should receive an opportunity centrally against Sabah in the Champions League or Brighton in the Carabao Cup. He needs to take it and the Frenchman can then be another possible solution for Carrick.
The answer might also lie less in changing the line-up and more in improving the structure. One hallmark of Carrick's tenure thus far has been the progress achieved on the training pitch at Carrington.
That could offer the solution once more. In Jonny Evans and Jonathan Woodgate, he has two ex-Premier League centre-backs among his coaching team, and allowing them the opportunity to oversee some defensive sessions could help deliver the improvement that Carrick recognises as vital.