Man United have had a couple of games this season that have seen issues at corners and Michael Carrick has called for a rule change.
Senne Lammens clears the ball during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Grappling at set-pieces has become a major talking point in the Premier League
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Michael Carrick has called on the Premier League to clamp down on grappling at set-pieces after claiming the penalty box battles had "gone too far", with Manchester United involved in games recently that have been highlighted as an issue.
Arsenal and Everton have put United's young goalkeeper Senne Lammens under pressure from corner kicks during Carrick's seven-game spell in charge, with the Belgian showing impressive maturity and confidence in dealing with the challenges posed.
Lammens said last week that the set-piece battle had become "war" in the Premier League this season and the chaos in the six-yard box at the Hill Dickinson Stadium was particularly noticeable.
The issue was back on the agenda this weekend, with Arsenal's 2-1 win against Chelsea on Sunday settled entirely by goals from corners. Carrick believes the balance has now been lost and said the Premier League should do something about it.
"I think it's gone too far," he said. "It wasn't long ago where we were told that you couldn't really lay a hand on anybody in the box, and it was going to be stamped out and clamped down on.
"And it's crept in, it's gotten stronger, I obviously think the success of set pieces, corners in particular, probably in terms of being able to put so many bodies close together, has made more teams do it because the success rate is so high.
"It's understandable why there's so many teams trying it and doing it. But in terms of it as a game, it doesn't feel like we've kind of got that balance right.
"So I don't know what [they] do about it. It's not for me to decide that, really, but in the meantime, you've got to deal with what's in front of you, and if it's allowed, then you've gotta play to it."
United have won both fixtures where grappling in the box has been a major feature of the game and Carrick has taken 19 points from a possible 21 in his time in charge, but he insists the turnaround in form hasn't come as a surprise.
"I wouldn't use the word surprise, I think you always strive to win games," he said. "Every game is winnable. I think both teams will come into it and think the same thing. If you can stay with that and go step by step, try and be consistent with it and then we feel we give ourselves a chance at doing that."
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