Manchester United were beaten by 10-man Newcastle United at St James' Park, much to the annoyance of Michael Carrick, with William Osula scoring the late winner
Michael Carrick speaks during an interview
Michael Carrick snapped back at some of the questions asked after Manchester United lost to Newcastle United
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Michael Carrick appeared visibly annoyed during his post-match interview on TNT Sports following Manchester United's defeat by Newcastle United in a thrilling encounter at St James' Park. William Osula's late strike secured all three points for the Magpies, who had Jacob Ramsey controversially dismissed before the interval.
A header from Casemiro initially equalised after Anthony Gordon's opener from the spot, but the Red Devils were powerless to prevent Osula from shattering their hopes in the dying moments of Wednesday's match.
The outcome represented Carrick's first loss since taking over as United's interim head coach. He was evidently frustrated after the final whistle.
Carrick seemed to bristle at the direction of questioning from TNT Sports reporter Jules Breach in his post-match interview. Carrick appeared surprised when confronted with the notion that his United outfit had failed to demonstrate sufficient character.
Breach asked: "You've shown so much character in your games, why was that lacking?" Carrick swiftly responded: "It wasn't. It wasn't." A somewhat uncomfortable silence ensued as Breach could be heard saying: "Okay."
Carrick went on: "It's easy to feel that just because you don't win a game of football. Just general things, the quality."
Michael Carrick looks dejected
Carrick showed his frustrations after full-time as Man Utd's unbeaten run came to an end(Image: George Wood, Getty Images)
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The former United midfielder delivered another prickly answer when pressed to clarify what was missing from the display, if not character. He said: "We've lost one game, alright? We haven't played well enough, but in the grand scheme of things, we're in a decent position."
Carrick confessed to feeling frustrated with his side's showing against Newcastle, but declined to offer excuses for their substandard display. He said: "We're not happy with the way we played the game.
"The way it panned out, it was in our hands largely, but credit to Newcastle. We navigated to a position where we felt we should kick on. We didn't, really, so bitterly disappointed. I don't think it was the 10 men; we just didn't play well enough, and we can't make excuses."
Carrick was also swift to provide some context, despite the sting of defeat, noting that United had secured six victories from their previous seven fixtures. He said: "Tonight is hurtful, but we'll be back for the next one.
"You've got to get back at it and work hard and do the things to win the games we've won. We're a good team, and we've got good players; tonight just wasn't for us."
United will be aiming to recover and restore their winning streak on Sunday, when they welcome Aston Villa in a fixture that could prove crucial in the battle for Champions League qualification.
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