Man Utd Guilty of ‘Ultimate Criticism You Can Give’ in Fulham Draw

The Red Devils will spend the international break facing major scrutiny.

A tough day for Man Utd. | Tiego Grenho/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick did his best to remain calm in the face of what Gary Neville described as “the ultimate criticism”—his team simply did not work hard enough against Fulham.

The highs of the first six months of the Carrick era have been forgotten after an ugly start to the current campaign. Only a heavily deflected 89th-minute strike from Matheus Cunha salvaged a 1–1 draw against a Fulham side still searching for their first win of the campaign, with United sitting on just one victory from their first five Premier League games.

Elimination from the Carabao Cup at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion just days earlier has seriously soured the mood, and Neville did not shy away from questioning the players.

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“I’ve never seen a Man Utd team walk out of possession as much as that,” Neville reflected. “Michael has just said there was nothing wrong with the team’s energy. Michael has got to stop defending them.

“I get why he’s defending them; he’s loyal, he wants his players to work for him, and obviously there’s a long way to go in the season.

“Both teams were the same. I called them mannequins. I’ve never seen a United team walk around as much as that. No alertness, no aliveness. No ‘on your toes.’ You should always be on your toes.”

He added: “Very rarely do I say a team doesn’t work hard or is lacking in effort. That’s the ultimate criticism you can give a group of players.

“I’m always very careful to say that, but in those first 15 minutes of that second half, Man Utd and generally for the first 60 minutes, were a genuine disgrace. Nowhere near good enough without the ball.”

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Carrick Clashes With Matheus Cunha Over Energy Levels

Michael Carrick (left) did not agree with Matheus Cunha (right)’s assessment. | Xinhua/Getty Images

While Neville claimed it to be a lack of effort, goalscorer Cunha argued United simply did not have the energy to match Fulham.

“In the beginning of the second half, Fulham put in more energy than us and we cannot accept this,” Cunha said, backed up by the fact United covered six kilometers less than Fulham across the full game.

Limited energy has been a concern about United’s play all season.

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Man Utd Out of Possession in 2026–27

Value	Statistic	Rank in Premier League
Time at High Intensity	49.6 minutes	20th
Sprints	243	20th
Time Sprinting	9.2 minutes	20th
%Time Walking	51.1%	17th

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Asked whether he agreed with Cunha’s claims about United’s energy levels, Carrick hit back: “I don’t, particularly.

“The way we finished the game … it didn’t look like that for me. I was quite happy with the way we finished the game. We kept pushing. I don’t think that’s an issue, no.

“The response [to Fulham’s goal] was really pleasing ... the way we went about trying to get back into the game. [We] kept the ideas, kept the patience, kept the real purpose to it. We finished on a positive, which is a small step for us ... without ­getting carried away, it’s a good step. We came to take three points but at least we’ve taken something to build on ­moving forward.

“It has been pretty fine ­margins that have flipped it. I know we can do better, we need to do better at certain things. But I’m not despondent and down because we’re showing some good signs.”

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