Michael Carrick and the Manchester United players. Credit: Imago
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has made some headlines since his side were beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford by Leeds United on Monday night.
It was Leeds’ first league win at the ground in more than 45 years, and it could turn out to be a defining moment in their push for Premier League survival.
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Noah Okafor proved decisive, netting twice in a dominant first-half display where Leeds created plenty and arguably should have scored even more.
Match Statistics: Manchester United vs Leeds United
📊 Official Team Statistics
Man Utd
METRIC
Leeds Utd
16
🚀 Total Shots
15
7
🎯 Shots on Target
5
52%
⚽ Possession
48%
418
🔄 Total Passes
386
86%
📏 Pass Accuracy
82%
12
⚠️ Fouls
15
3
🟨 Yellow Cards
2
11
🚩 Corners
4
The refereeing performance by Paul Tirney has come under the scanner with Michael Carrick insisting that his side were hard done by two big decisions during the game.
Jason Cundy slams Michael Carrick for being a hypocrite
The Manchester United manager was not pleased with referee Pau Tierney after the game, and insisted that his decision to send off Lisandro Martinez was one of the worst decisions he has seen.
Michael Carrick also slammed the referee for missing Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s elbowing of Leny Yoro in the build-up to the first Leeds goal, which he feels should have been disallowed.
However, Cundy pointed out that Manchester United were already 2-0 down when Martinez was, in his view, harshly sent off, and believes you can’t complain about the red card while also arguing that Leeds’ goal should have been ruled out for a foul on Yoro.
Cundy slammed Carrick and said on talkSPORT, “At that time, they were 2-0 down.
“The managers are hypocrites, they were 2-0 down.
“He was saying the forearm smash on Yoro by Calvert-Lewin, but c’mon!
“If you are going to say the sending off was harsh, then you can’t disallow a goal for that.”
Leeds are almost there
That result at Old Trafford could be huge for more than just morale, as it also opened up a six-point gap between Leeds and Tottenham in the relegation zone.
With only six games left and Spurs still winless in the league this year, that cushion suddenly looks quite comfortable.
Leeds also have a kind run-in against Wolves, Burnley and Tottenham, which makes it hard to see them falling into the bottom three.
On top of that, they’ve got an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to against a Chelsea side that hasn’t had much joy against them this season.
In reality, one more win should all but secure survival, and on this form, you’d back them to get it.