Man Utd Round-Up, Tuesday 13th October: Carrick Under Huge Pressure as Atletico Madrid Thrash United 2-0
Manchester United's miserable week got even worse as they were beaten 2-0 by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, with Pablo Barrios and Ademola Lookman on target and Leny Yoro sent off, leaving Michael Carrick under serious pressure (Evening Standard). Atletico raced into an early lead inside a minute through Barrios, who dedicated his goal to captain Koke after the midfielder's mother sadly passed away earlier in the day (Fox Sports) (Fox Sports). A minute's silence was held before kick-off at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano as a mark of respect, with both clubs confirming the tribute to Koke and his family (Evening Standard) (ManUtd.com). Sky Sports' Clinton Morrison was withering in his assessment of United's start, declaring there was "no improvement" as Atletico struck after just 47 seconds (Sky Sports), while United also had a seemingly legitimate second goal from Atletico controversially chalked off during the game (Manchester Evening News).
Carrick had made changes to his midfield set-up for the trip to Spain, explaining his reasoning before kick-off (Manchester Evening News), and named a starting XI that saw Rashford return while Dorgu and Mazraoui were weighed up as options at left-back with Luke Shaw ruled out for a second successive Champions League match (Evening Standard). Manchester Evening News had earlier predicted a line-up with Rashford back and Baleba starting (Manchester Evening News), and suggested a side United should field for the "major test" (Manchester Evening News), while the Evening Standard reported Carrick had called up a youngster to the squad (Evening Standard). Six players in total were missing for the trip to Madrid following a double injury blow sustained in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham (Manchester Evening News), though United did get a boost with a "forgotten man" handed a potential return under Carrick (Evening Standard).
The defeat piles further pressure on Carrick, with Manchester Evening News reporting on the mood among fans suggesting time is running out for the head coach after just eight games of the season (Manchester Evening News), and highlighting a "worrying comment" from Carrick himself about his position amid sack talk (Manchester Evening News). There were also claims Carrick "wants out" of Old Trafford, with Fabian Hurzeler's name mentioned as a potential replacement (Manchester Evening News), a verdict echoed by Paul Scholes, who said Hurzeler "looks the real deal" when asked about the managerial situation (Evening Standard). Manchester Evening News additionally reported United had "hit back" at claims about a private conversation between Carrick and Nicky Butt (Manchester Evening News).
Away from the result, United's poor draw with Tottenham continued to generate fallout, with Jamie Carragher singling out two players for an "unacceptable" moment in that game (Manchester Evening News), and player ratings from the match showing Carlos Baleba impressing while three others were marked down (Manchester Evening News). Bruno Fernandes also came under scrutiny, with the BBC asking whether his below-par form is a symptom or a cause of United's struggles (BBC Sport), while Wayne Rooney warned that an Fernandes "explosion" could be on the way as he battles through another difficult spell with the club (Manchester Evening News).
On the transfer front, TeamTalk reported that United have accepted defeat in trying to keep hold of teenage prodigy JJ Gabriel, with Real Madrid said to be confident of landing him (TeamTalk), and Manchester Evening News added that frontrunners to sign Gabriel have emerged as the youngster edges towards an Old Trafford exit (Manchester Evening News). Elsewhere, United were reported to be keeping tabs on Atletico's Giuliano Simeone as part of a scouting mission (Manchester Evening News).
Looking back, Manchester Evening News recalled United's last visit to Atletico Madrid four years ago, when they drew the first leg but lost the return fixture, with a player United once thought could be a future star (Manchester Evening News), and also revisited the unhappy loan spell of an Atletico icon at Old Trafford, who reportedly fared better back in Spain afterwards (Manchester Evening News) (Manchester Evening News).
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