Four games into the Premier League season, Manchester United sit a lowly 13th with just four points to show, prompting fresh scrutiny of Michael Carrick's start as permanent head coach. The results so far read: a 2-0 defeat at Hull, a 5-2 thrashing of Ipswich, a 2-2 draw at Everton, and Sunday's 1-0 loss at home to Manchester City.
Some context softens the blow of the City defeat. United played the derby just three days after their Champions League victory over Sabah, while City's manager Enzo Maresca had an extra 48 hours of rest following a win at Porto. Still, the underlying performance has raised eyebrows. Even with a man advantage for most of the second half after Phil Foden's 23rd-minute red card, United managed only 0.95 expected goals at home — the first time in 12 home league games under Carrick that the figure dipped below 1.0. Erling Haaland's winner arrived via a contentious VAR call, with Enzo Fernández adjudged not to have interfered with play despite Pro Ref later admitting he was in fact interfering.
Comparisons are already being drawn to Ole Gunnar Solskjær's trajectory at Old Trafford. Solskjær took charge as caretaker in December 2018, enjoyed an initial upturn, then struggled badly once appointed permanently, eventually being dismissed in November 2021. Carrick followed a similar arc last season, steadying the ship as interim boss after Ruben Amorim's turbulent exit and guiding United to third place. Since taking the job on a permanent basis, though, results have dipped. Notably, his contract runs only until 2028 — a relatively short deal that may hint at lingering caution from director of football Jason Wilcox.
One persistent issue is the left-back position. United spent much of the summer chasing options including Newcastle's Lewis Hall, Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, and RB Leipzig's David Raum, but ultimately signed none of them. Instead, the club funnelled resources into three midfielders — Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos, and Carlos Baleba — for a combined outlay of roughly £148m. With Luke Shaw sidelined through injury for the City game, Carrick was forced to use Patrick Dorgu as a makeshift left-back, a role in which he struggled, including an error that led directly to City's winning goal.
The midfield reinforcements have yet to deliver either. Santos has made just one start, in the loss at Hull, while Baleba remains out injured and is not expected to return until after the international break. Tielemans has started all four league matches but has struggled to influence games. Speaking during United's pre-season camp in Kildare, the Belgium captain admitted that no other club had shown interest in triggering his £35m release clause at Aston Villa — a comment that adds pressure on him to prove his worth now.
Up front, Benjamin Sesko has offered some encouragement since returning from injury, scoring against Sabah in the Champions League and against Everton in the league, making him United's joint-third top scorer behind Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo. By contrast, Matheus Cunha and Marcus Rashford have yet to find the net in the league this season. With Sesko showing promise as a focal point, there is a growing case for handing him a starting role, potentially against Fulham.
United return to action against Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before travelling to Fulham in the league on Sunday, with Carrick under mounting pressure to arrest the slide and justify the faith shown in him after last season's improvement.
Based on reporting from The Guardian and BBC Sport.