Manchester United looked set to take another three points from Merseyside after leading Everton twice, but the game slipped away from them in the closing seconds.
Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring early in the second half before Tyrique George brought Everton level. Benjamin Sesko then appeared to have won it for United in the 88th minute, only for Ainsley Maitland-Niles to produce a stunning stoppage-time equaliser. Carrick was left frustrated by the way his side failed to close the game out.
Carrick admits United should have seen it out
The United boss felt there were plenty of positives in the performance, particularly for long spells of the match. His main frustration was that United had put themselves in a position to win but did not manage the final stages properly.
“There was a lot of good things in the game for us. We played some really good football, were dangerous at times. For the most part we defended well as a team,” Michael Carrick said after the game.
Michael Carrick then pointed to what changed as Everton began sending more balls into the box.
“The longer the game went on there were a few more balls into the box and a few decisions we made it more difficult for us when we should’ve seen it out really. We’re disappointed we didn’t come away with a win.”
Asked which decisions he was referring to, Carrick was not interested in going into detail.
“I’ll keep them to myself a little bit but we should’ve seen the game out really so we’re disappointed with that.”
There was no attempt from the United manager to pretend everything had gone wrong. In fact, he felt his team had controlled large parts of the contest and had done a good job limiting Everton’s clearer openings.
Carrick backs United’s defending despite late strikes
Everton’s two goals came from Tyrique George and Maitland-Niles, with both efforts finding the net impressively. Carrick was quick to acknowledge the quality of the finishing.
“There were two great strikes to be fair. We didn’t give them real clear chances. We defended well. They had a few bits that dropped around the edge of the box.”
The manager also believes Manchester United need to look more closely at how those situations developed, even though the final finishes were difficult to stop.
“We defended the box pretty well for the most part. We look to the reasons how they ended up getting those opportunities but those were really good strikes.”
Carrick’s overall assessment was therefore mixed. He liked much of what he saw, especially in the opening stages, but thought the performance tailed off late on.
“There was a lot of good things. Especially early on in the game and probably towards the end not so much. We looked dangerous. I thought we called a lot of problems.”
For Michael Carrick, Sesko’s late goal should have been enough to settle the contest.
“They got really good goals for different reasons and our second one should’ve been a winner.”
That was ultimately the source of United’s frustration. They had done enough to put themselves ahead twice, and Carrick felt the second advantage should have been protected.
Instead, Maitland-Niles’ late strike changed the mood completely and left United with a point. Carrick suggests the result was not simply down to Everton producing two spectacular finishes. There were also moments in the closing stages when United made life harder for themselves than necessary.
