Gary Lineker has talked about one major area that Michael Carrick needs to improve after Manchester United had something for ‘the first time’ that hasn’t been the case in Carrick’s previous games.
Manchester United were held to a 1–1 draw by West Ham United in the Premier League, marking the first points dropped under Michael Carrick.
A tense and cagey first half saw clear-cut chances at a premium. The best opportunity fell to Luke Shaw following a cleverly worked set piece, but his effort was dramatically cleared off the line by former United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The hosts struck five minutes after the restart when Tomáš Souček reacted sharply at the near post, guiding a delicate finish through the legs of Senne Lammens to put West Ham ahead.
However, United’s growing resilience under Carrick was evident once more. Bryan Mbeumo delivered a dangerous cross that substitute Benjamin Šeško met with a composed and clever finish, rescuing a point for the visitors to take back to Manchester.
Gary Lineker on Man Utd’s performance
Manchester United hadn’t been the only team enjoying an upturn in form going into the game against West Ham. The hosts had won three out of their last four games as they battle to stay in the Premier League.
Gary Lineker, speaking on The Rest Is Football, reflected on Manchester United’s performance against West Ham, saying, “On the football side, obviously, Michael Carrick, they’re doing okay, considering where they were a few weeks ago.”
“And they’ve climbed the table. They’re in the Champions League spot as we speak.
“We did say, didn’t we, that so far, even the Fulham game that they’ve played in, Fulham tend not to play in a particularly low block.”
Lineker noticed one area that Carrick needs to improve
Lineker went on to talk to co-host Alan Shearer about how Manchester United’s fixture against West Ham was the first time that the side had come across a team playing a low block.
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“This was the first time they played against a team in a low block and had, I think, 60 odd per cent possession,” he continued.
“And they didn’t win this game. So, I think that’s something that Michael Carrick probably needs to work on.
“And we know it’s difficult against teams with a low block, but that was generally, they’ve done better against the good teams.”
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