Carrick dismisses Cunha's fitness concerns after United salvage draw at Fulham

Michael Carrick rejected suggestions that Manchester United have a fitness problem after Matheus Cunha’s deflected equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw at Fulham’s Craven Cottage, a result that ended a run of three defeats in six games across all competitions.

The draw came against the Premier League’s bottom side and arrived only after United conceded a Lisandro Martinez own goal just after the hour mark — a low point in a second half that Cunha himself admitted the hosts had started with greater energy.

“In the beginning of the second half they put in more energy than us and we cannot accept this,” the Brazilian forward said after the game.

Carrick, however, was unwilling to accept that framing. Recent statistics had placed United near the bottom of the Premier League for sprints, high-speed runs and distance covered this season, and the manager had already had a terse exchange with a television reporter who described his side as passive. His response to Cunha’s comments was equally firm.

“No, I don’t particularly really [think it’s an issue],” Carrick said. “The way we finished the game, actually, it didn’t look like that for me. I was quite happy with the way we finished the game, I thought we finished the game really strong actually, and kept pushing. So I don’t think that’s an issue, no.”

Carrick acknowledged the point was not the result United wanted but argued the character shown in coming from behind would prove valuable as the season develops.

“That’s a big thing and without getting carried away with it, because we’ve taken a point and we wanted to win, but it’s part of learning as a group,” he said. “It’s the first time when we’ve had a spell of a couple of weeks where results haven’t quite gone to plan. And you learn about each other.”

The United manager was candid about what the difficult run had revealed, both about his players and about himself as a head coach navigating his first sustained rough patch in the role.

“They learn about me, because we haven’t had that, I learn about them individually and as a team,” he added. “How we respond, what it looks like moving forward, what our reaction is — that’s part of growing as a group. Today it could have gone in a different direction, 100% it could have. I was really pleased with the response and I think that’ll help us a lot moving forward.”