Carrick praises United's second-half response after slow start against Tottenham

Michael Carrick praised his Manchester United players for finding their intensity after a sluggish opening to Saturday’s draw with Tottenham at Old Trafford, though he admitted the slow start was not how he wanted his side to begin games.

Carrick had called for more “fire” from his squad on Friday, only for United to produce exactly the kind of flat, low-energy opening he had warned against. Spurs started brightly and were let down only by poor decision-making in the final third and wayward finishing, which allowed United to reach half-time level despite offering little themselves.

The caretaker manager pushed back on the suggestion that a lack of intensity was becoming a recurring problem, instead choosing to highlight the way his players managed to shift gears as the game wore on against Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

“I don’t think it was particularly that,” Carrick said when asked whether intensity was becoming an issue. “It looks like that in the end and I understand why you say that. I just think it can get like that quite quickly when you’re not quite there, and you’re not quite at it — and credit to Tottenham for that, I thought they started the game really well.”

Carrick acknowledged that recovering momentum mid-match is no simple task. “I thought we found it, to be honest, as the game progressed, which is sometimes harder. Sometimes it’s harder to find it when you haven’t quite got it. Credit the players for that, for finding it towards the end of the first half, certainly the second half.”

Despite the positive spin on the response, Carrick was candid about the frustration of failing to convert that improved performance into a win. “We don’t want to start games like that — no one wants to start games like that. It was challenging for the players, but they worked through it and got themselves in a good position, which is the most disappointing thing in some ways, is not seeing the game out.”