Carrick criticises United's expulsion and missed goal at Metropolitano

Michael Carrick, manager of Manchester United, spoke after his team's defeat to Atlético de Madrid in the Champions League, played this Tuesday at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid. The coach criticised an arbitrary decision regarding the sending‑off and lamented the poor offensive effectiveness of the English side.

The red‑card controversy

At the press conference, Carrick claimed that the card shown was not red and that the referee reviewed the incident with VAR without justification. “It’s not red. I don’t agree with the decision, I wasn’t moving at that speed, it’s not a question of whether it’s a foul or not, it’s that I was moving very slowly and the push is gentle,” the manager said.

The manager emphasised that the sanction had a huge impact in the second half of the match, affecting Manchester United’s rhythm.

Offensive problems and defence

Regarding the team’s performance, Carrick noted that the lack of goals was not due to individual confidence, but to the inability to create chances as in other games. “Players can miss chances, they have quality and it’s not an individual issue. We haven’t capitalised on chances as much as on other days,” he explained.

The manager also criticised the defence after the opponent’s first goal, indicating that United read the game better after that goal but failed to achieve the expected result.

In his comments, Carrick recalled that Atlético de Madrid reached the semi‑finals last season and that United had chances to level it 1‑1, although none were converted.

The press release included the photo credit “Juanjo Martin / EFE Javier G.”, which acknowledges the media coverage.

Finally, Carrick urged his players to keep working and improve future results, without neglecting defence and chance creation.