Michael Carrick Names Two Things That Went Wrong for Man Utd in West Ham Draw

A run of four consecutive victories was halted by the Hammers on Tuesday.

A disappointing draw for Man Utd. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

A lack of “sharpness and spark” was behind Manchester United’s draw away at West Ham United, manager Michael Carrick conceded, as he questioned the team’s approach to the dying embers of the game.

“Being together for a short space of time, I think we’ve obviously had big highs of the results and the wins, and I think there’s times when it doesn’t quite go to plan, and you’ve got to take what you can from it,” Carrick reflected after Benjamin Šeško’s 96th-minute equaliser kept his unbeaten start alive.

“It’s a tough place to come, they made it difficult, and we just didn’t quite have that sharpness or that spark, really, to find the answers too often.”

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United Fail to Capitalise on Key Strength of Carrick Tenure

Man Utd lacked their typical energy. | Izzy Poles/AMA/Getty Images

A handful of United’s biggest names have pointed to the new sense of spirit injected into the team by the arrival of Carrick, a club legend who understands the fabled “United DNA” for which fans have been longing.

That new enthusiasm has been evident on the pitch across Carrick’s five games to date as the team have made a habit of scoring late goals. Matheus Cunha struck in the 87th minute to beat Arsenal and a 94th-minute swipe from Šeško snatched three points against Fulham, with the Slovenia striker popping up again to save the day in the dying embers of Tuesday’s game.

Given their penchant for late goals, Carrick admitted his disappointment towards a lack of ambition as the clock ticked down against West Ham.

“There’s that spirit that galvanises you when you score late goals and you know you’re capable of scoring late goals,” Carrick explained. “It’s good to have it in the bank if you need it. Hopefully, we can see games off a little bit sooner and take the points next time.

“It's important we threw everything out at the end and had a lot of forwards on the pitch. [We] probably could [have] put a few more balls in the box, if we’re honest, with the players that we've got. Josh [Zirkzee] had a chance that just went wide, and [a] great finish from Benji. So, delighted for him again, another big goal for him, and a good step.”

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Sesko Hails Man Utd’s Fighting Spirit

Benjamin Šeško stole the show with his late strike. | Izzy Poles/AMA/Getty Images

While Carrick may have left the game with a sense of disappointment, that was not for a lack of trying from Šeško, who secured a late point with a gloriously controlled volley deep into stoppage time.

“I am happy with my finish but not happy with the draw,” Sesko told TNT Sports.

“I know we deserve the win because we were fighting. Unfortunately, some days you are a bit unlucky. We were fighting in the end and got a draw, which was important.

“We are a great team together. We are working together no matter what is happening, whether we are behind or in front, we are always fighting.”

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