Reuters
Manchester United may have been robbed by VAR in their defeat to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, but their performance on the day was a major concern.
The Red Devils were up against a ten-man City side after Phil Foden was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in the 23rd minute, but fell to defeat thanks to a controversial Erling Haaland goal on the hour mark, despite Enzo Fernandez attempting to play the ball while in an offside position.
The VAR controversy has taken all the headlines from the game, with ProRef releasing a statement confirming the goal shouldn't have stood, rubbing salt into the wounds.
But the controversy has taken the spotlight off Man Utd's poor performance somewhat. Michael Carrick's side have now won just one of their opening four Premier League games and have just four points, leaving them in 13th place in the table behind newly-promoted sides Hull and Ipswich Town.
Fans have begun to become concerned around whether Carrick is the right man for the job, with many viewing his interim run as boss not enough to have secured him the job permanently when there were so many options available in the summer.
The iconic midfielder is now battling to prove himself just five games into the new season, and with an EFL clash against Brighton on Wednesday to come, elimination would be a huge issue for him to deal with heading into an extended international break.
Despite having the full backing of the board following the poor start to the season, Carrick knows that he must change something to start getting results once again, and that starts with the upcoming games against Brighton and Fulham.
The attack hasn't been firing properly, with the manager opting to use a false 9 system with Matheus Cunha as the starting striker instead of Benjamin Sesko or Joshua Zirkzee, but that has been a key factor in the team struggling to create chances as frequently as they should be.
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Carrick Must Drop Awful Cunha ASAP
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Cunha has been in from the start of all five games so far this season, starting as the central striker in every Premier League game, while he got the nod on the left wing against Sabah in the Champions League.
So far, his only goal this season has come against the Azerbaijani side in the 5-0 win last week, while he also registered an assist in the win over Ipswich, but his overall performances have been majorly disappointing.
Carrick must make changes, and it's the obvious one to make. Sesko has shown plenty of quality with two goals already this season despite minimal minutes, while Marcus Rashford has also been in good form on the left wing. When Carrick first arrived at Old Trafford last season, the Brazilian had to fight for his place from the substitutes' bench. He eventually did it with some great impact, and now it's time for him to do the same again.
It has felt like the manager has been too scared to make the big decisions so far in this campaign, and that must change. If it doesn't, then Carrick will have nobody but himself to blame when he gets sacked.