‘It hurts a lot’ — Carrick understands the boos after Solanke’s late leveller
Sunday 11 October 2026 · By Jack Ellison
Old Trafford booed at the final whistle on Saturday, and Michael Carrick did not argue. “It hurts a lot,” the Manchester United manager said after a 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, who finished the game with ten men.
Carrick admitted his team struggled before the break. The game changed when Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for headbutting Luke Shaw. With the extra man, United eventually took the lead through Bryan Mbeumo on 73 minutes, a finish Carrick described as “fantastic”.
They could not hold it. In the 92nd minute, Dominic Solanke got away from Lisandro Martínez and headed in Sandro Tonali’s cross. Carrick said his side should have killed the game off long before that, and that he understood why supporters reacted as they did, according to Goal and NBC.
One win in six league matches tells its own story. United have six points and a goal difference of zero. After Sunday’s results they are 13th.
The pattern is the concern. Leading against ten men at home, in stoppage time, is the position every manager wants. Losing it suggests a problem with game management as much as quality.
There is quality, though. Mbeumo’s goal showed what the attack can produce, and the side created enough once Bentancur had gone to have been out of sight.
The next fixture brings no relief. United travel to Leeds on Sunday 18 October (14:00), and Elland Road will be hostile. Daniel Farke’s side lost their unbeaten record at Arsenal on Saturday after outplaying the champions for an hour, so they will be looking for a reaction of their own.
Bournemouth come to Old Trafford on 25 October. Marco Rose’s side are winless and were beaten 5–1 at Chelsea, but teams in that position can arrive with little to lose. United then visit Chelsea on 31 October (12:30), where Henderson and his teammates have just scored five.
Mbeumo’s goal was one of the few positives. The finish was the kind Carrick praised afterwards, and it should have been enough against ten men. The final minutes, though, will dominate the reviews. Martínez lost Solanke from a cross, and United could not hold a lead they had waited 73 minutes to take. Carrick said his side should have killed the game off. Elland Road will test whether they have learned that lesson.
Carrick’s honesty after the match will be welcomed by many supporters. They will want to see it matched by a performance in Leeds.
Leeds, Bournemouth and Chelsea in the space of a fortnight is a run that will tell Carrick a great deal about his squad.
A season can turn on a few results, in either direction. United’s next three games will show which way this one is going.
Old Trafford has been Manchester United’s home since 1910, on Sir Matt Busby Way in the borough of Trafford, a short ride south-west of Manchester city centre. The ground holds a little over 74,000, which makes it the largest club stadium in Britain, and on a matchday it feels every bit that size. For a visiting supporter the useful map is simple. Four stands wrap a pitch that runs east to west. The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, three tiers and the tallest side of the ground, fills the north. Opposite it, the shallower single-tier Sir Bobby Charlton Stand runs along the south, with the directors’ box, the tunnel and both dugouts. Behind the goals sit the Stretford End to the west and the East Stand, still sometimes called the Scoreboard End, to the east.
The two goals sit directly in front of those ends. The west goal is the one in front of the Stretford End, United’s loudest home support and the stand with the club’s main safe-standing section. The east goal is the one in front of the East Stand. If your ticket is in the away section you are not behind either goal in the middle. League allocations, usually around 3,000, go into the lower tier of the south-east corner, where the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand meets the East Stand, in blocks around E132 and E230 to E232. You look across the near corner of the pitch, with the tunnel on the south side below you and the East Stand goal to your right as you face the field. The angle is honest rather than perfect: the far goal, in front of the Stretford End, is a long way off, and a tight offside at that end is easier to hear than to judge. Cup ties can open more of the East Stand, sometimes into the upper tier, so check the block on the ticket rather than assuming the corner.
Stewards keep the away end separate from home areas for the whole match, and you will be asked to stay in the allocated section. The view from the lower south-east is decent once you are standing, which most people are. Sightlines are clear of pillars. What you do not get is the full theatrical sweep of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand opposite: that north side is the postcard, a deep red wall rising well above the other three. The south stand in front of you is older and lower, which is why the ground looks asymmetrical from the away seats.
Arrive earlier than the kick-off time on the ticket suggests. Sir Matt Busby Way funnels almost everyone towards the same gates, and the Munich clock and the statue of Best, Law and Charlton sit on that approach, so the pavement clogs from about ninety minutes out. The Metrolink stop called Old Trafford is on the Altrincham line and is the simplest way in from the city; Wharfside, on the Trafford Park line, is the other nearby stop and is often quieter after the game. Trams fill up fast in both directions. If you are coming by train, Manchester Piccadilly and Deansgate are the useful stations, then a tram or a taxi. Driving to the ground and expecting to park next to it is a poor plan on a Saturday.
Food and drink inside are the usual stadium offering, and the away concourse is functional rather than a destination. Most travelling supporters eat and drink in the city centre beforehand and walk or tram across. Pubs immediately around the ground are largely home-fan pubs, and several will not admit away colours. Keep colours covered until you are inside the away turnstiles if you are arriving on foot. Bags should be small: the usual Premier League list applies, so no large rucksacks, no glass, no flares. Tickets are checked hard at the away entrance, and a digital ticket on a charged phone is safer than a screenshot that will not refresh.
Leave a little time on the way out as well. The south-east exit puts you back towards the tram and towards Chester Road, and the queues at both Metrolink stops can run for half an hour after a full house. If your train is tight, walk towards Warwick Road or pick up a taxi away from the stadium rather than at the first rank you see. Old Trafford is not a hostile ground if you stay in the away end and keep the day simple, but it is a big one, and the club’s support will let you know which end is theirs from the moment the teams come out of the tunnel in front of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.