Source: AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBut after successive gut-punch defeats against Manchester City and Brighton, this was another setback to his reeling regime.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s start was lambasted by former great Gary Neville, who said their start to the second half was \u201cthe worst 15 minutes I have ever seen Manchester United play\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a Man Utd team walk out of possession as much as that,\u201d Neville said on Sky Sports<\/i>. <\/p>\n
\u201cMichael has just said there was nothing wrong with the team\u2019s energy \u2013 Michael has got to stop defending them. <\/p>\n
\u201cI called them mannequins. I\u2019ve never seen a United team walk around as much as that. No alertness, no aliveness. No \u2018on your toes\u2019. You should always be on your toes.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery rarely do I say a team doesn\u2019t work hard or is lacking in effort. That\u2019s the ultimate criticism you can give a group of players.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always very careful to say that, but in those first 15 minutes of that second half, Man Utd \u2026 were a genuine disgrace. Nowhere near good enough without the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barely escaping with a draw against second-from-bottom Fulham was another indignity in a season already full of forgettable moments for United.<\/p>\n
Expected to at least match last season\u2019s third place finish, United have gone backwards since Carrick was appointed as manager on a permanent basis following his successful interim spell.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came to get the win of course, the way it panned out and the way we finished is the positive we take from it,\u201d Carrick said post-match.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t think things are perfect by any means. We need to win football matches.\u201d <\/p>\n
United only started to press hard after Martinez\u2019s own goal, but remarkably Carrick was adamant that he had no complaints about their hunger.<\/p>\n
Asked if United were passive, he said: \u201cI didn\u2019t think we were. Did you think we were? Football is a difficult game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe controlled a lot of the first half. It\u2019s the Premier League and you will have spells where you don\u2019t have it all your own way.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo expect total dominance for the whole game, I don\u2019t think anyone gets that in this league.\u201d <\/p>\n
A point is enough to edge Fulham off the foot of the table as Tottenham drop to the bottom.<\/p>\n
United return to action with a home game against Spurs on October 10, with Carrick and rival boss Roberto De Zerbi both desperate for a win that would turn the tide.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Alvaro Arbeloa, manager of Fulham, reacts during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester United. (Photo by Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBLACK CAT\u2019S HAT-TRICK GIVES CITY SCARE IN 8-GOAL THRILLER<\/b><\/p>\n
Manchester City went top of the Premier League despite Brian Brobbey\u2019s hat-trick in a 5-3 thriller on Sunday, as the giants took advantage of Arsenal\u2019s shock 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring with his first goal since equalling the Premier League transfer record with a \u00a3125 million ($167 million) move from Chelsea.<\/p>\n
The Argentine midfielder\u2019s free-kick caught out Robin Roefs at his near post. <\/p>\n
Sunderland won their first European match for 53 years against AZ Alkmaar in midweek but showed little sign of tiredness as City could not shake off the Black Cats.<\/p>\n
Brobbey slotted home Enzo Le Fee\u2019s pass for the first of his treble. Quick feet and a slick finish from Rayan Cherki restored City\u2019s advantage, but Brobbey again replied within four minutes at the end of a fine Sunderland move.<\/p>\n
Antoine Semenyo smashed City back in front before half-time and thought he had settled the game with another accurate left-footed finish just before the hour mark.<\/p>\n
Brobbey completed his hat-trick after Nilson Angulo beat Gianluigi Donnarumma to a ball over the top.<\/p>\n
A couple of nervy moments from the Italian goalkeeper nearly led to a Sunderland equaliser as Ruben Dias was forced to clear off his own line.<\/p>\n
However, Erling Haaland finally got involved in the goalfest to seal the three points and ensured he has scored against every side he has faced in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Erling Haaland celebrates scoring Manchester City\u2019s fifth goal against Sunderland. (Photo by PETER POWELL \/ AFP)<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nVictory extends Enzo Maresca\u2019s perfect start to the daunting task of succeeding Pep Guardiola at City boss.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3 but I expected a very difficult game,\u201d Maresca said post-match.<\/p>\n
ISAK WINNER KEEPS REDS ON TRACK<\/b><\/p>\n
Liverpool won 1-0 on Andoni Iraola\u2019s return to Bournemouth thanks to Alexander Isak\u2019s winner.<\/p>\n
Iraola was given a warm reception after leading the Cherries into Europe for the first time in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
That success led to the Basque being snapped up by Liverpool but he has endured an up and down start at Anfield and needed a victory to ease tensions before the international break.<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s performance was again far from convincing but they got the only goal when Cody Gakpo\u2019s cross sat up for Isak to fire in his fourth of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo win here is very difficult, I know it very well,\u201d Iraola said. <\/p>\n
\u201cOverall we\u2019ve improved, definitely since the first games.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Alexander Isak of Liverpool celebrates with Bradley Barcola after scoring the Reds\u2019 only goal against Bournemouth. (Photo by Mike Hewitt\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nVictory moves Liverpool up to sixth and within a point of third-placed Brighton. Leeds missed the chance to go third themselves after being held 0-0 at home by Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n
Andoni Iraola urged Alexander Isak to raise his level after the Liverpool striker sealed his side\u2019s 1-0 win against Bournemouth on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Isak settled a hard-fought clash with his fourth Premier League goal of the season in the second half at the Vitality Stadium.<\/p>\n
Plagued by injuries and a significant loss of form, Isak netted just three times in the top-flight in the 2025-26 campaign following his acrimonious \u00a3125 million ($167 million) move from Newcastle.<\/p>\n
The Sweden star has already scored more goals in Liverpool\u2019s first five league matches this season than he did across the whole of last term.<\/p>\n
But demanding Reds boss Iraola still wants more from Isak as he looks to turn Liverpool\u2019s spells of dominance into more regular goal sprees.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took the chance after a quiet afternoon \u2013 and that\u2019s what a striker\u2019s job is like,\u201d Iraola said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a couple of situations, a cross he didn\u2019t hit properly, one when his control wasn\u2019t right and then the goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he has to help us to be closer to the box, to play in the opposition half and to have meaningful possession.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen, if the team is playing there, he will receive the rewards in terms of goals. We need that level so that we can play better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iraola left Bournemouth for Anfield after three seasons with the Cherries, capped off by leading the club to a maiden European berth last season.<\/p>\n
Liverpool had enjoyed two more days of rest than the hosts, who beat Real Sociedad in San Sebastian on Thursday to open their Europa League campaign with a victory.<\/p>\n
But they struggled to impose themselves for long periods of Iraola\u2019s homecoming before Isak made the breakthrough in the 57th minute.<\/p>\n
Cody Gakpo\u2019s cross was intended for Florian Wirtz, who could not connect under pressure, but Bournemouth failed to deal with the cross and Isak pounced to sweep home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was disappointed with the first 20, 25 minutes. I think we didn\u2019t start the game with the intensity it requires,\u201d Iraola said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo win here is very difficult, I know it very well. Normally Bournemouth starts really strong, and it took us this 20, 25 minutes until we matched a little bit this level.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom there I think at the end of the first half and the second half we played better. Better situations with the ball, and we could win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United rescued a 1-1 draw against Fulham thanks to Matheus Cunha\u2019s late equaliser on Sunday, but the pressure is mounting on boss Michael Carrick after their latest lacklustre display. Carrick\u2019s side were in dire need of a victory at Craven Cottage but instead left grateful for a point after a contentious encounter that left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-263625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}