Manchester United

Former England winger Andros Townsend says the way Manchester United are currently pressing is "completely wrong".

"They have two major issues - one in possession and one out of it," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"In possession, they are a crossing team, but when your striker is [Bryan] Mbeumo on Saturday, or [Matheus] Cunha previously, and they have left [Benjamin] Sesko on the bench, it bemuses me a little bit.

"Out of possession, I don't buy into the players not wanting it enough, but I think the way they press is completely wrong. They leave themselves open, they leave the number six with way too much time on the ball.

"You can't leave the best players free to control possession."

United underwent a midfield rebuild over the summer, losing the experienced Casemiro at the end of his contract and bringing in Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba for combined fees of about £153m.

"Casemiro bought a lot more than just quality on the ball," Townsend added. "He was always organising and was that line of security.

"Tielemans is a high-quality player but I've been really surprised by his slow start. It doesn't seem to have worked out as of yet."

Listen to Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Imagine a world where Manchester City had not used "sham contracts" to build a team capable of winning three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and three EFL Cups.

If City were the winners, then there had to be losers - and not just those teams who finished runners-up or lost cup finals.

The potential impact runs much deeper and includes missed Champions League qualification, relegation and Premier League prize money.

Thirty-five other teams played in the English top flight between 2009 and 2018.

And every one could in some way claim to have been left financially out of pocket.

Learn more about how the numbers were calculated here

Image source, Getty Images

On the latest episode of The Devils' Advocate podcast, co-hosts Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath discuss Manchester United's upcoming games and what results could mean for Michael Carrick position.

McGrath said: "I think it will be an absolute battering [against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League]. I think Carrick will get away with whatever result might happen in midweek.

"Things will start to get a bit nasty if Leeds United at the weekend doesn't go Manchester United's way."

Drinkwater added: "If we were fans of any other football club, this position that we're in now - worst start in 40 years - we'd be keeping an eye on our phones today [thinking]: 'It could come out today, he might get sacked today.'

"But we're not, we're Manchester United fans. Manchester United do give their managers a bit of time, which I think is a good thing on the whole.

"If we were to lose the next two, we're checking our phones on Monday."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Manchester United will be taking a close look at Atletico Madrid's 23-year-old Argentina forward Giuliano Simeone when the two sides meet in the Champions League. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Huzaifah Khan
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Premier League game against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news, Carrick said Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw "picked up issues" in the draw against Tottenham and have not travelled to Madrid for the game.

• He added that Matthijs de Ligt has travelled and is available for selection.

• On Bruno Fernandes' form, he backed his captain, saying: "He's a top player and sometimes things don't go for you and sometimes you have a spell of that. He's done some incredible things for this football club and he'll do that again in the future, there's no doubt about that."

• On how he's feeling while his side struggle for form: "I love this part of sometimes when it's not quite going for you, you see who's really there in the group, players, the squad, who's really there and who wants to be there in the long-term."

• The Manchester United boss added that he is confident that "we'll come through this".

• On whether he is under pressure, Carrick responded: "It depends how you define pressure. There's our own expectation. We know what we're capable of doing as a team, what we expect as a group and as a football club. That comes from us. I certainly don't look outside or elsewhere of what it should look like. I know fine well what it should look like. I've felt it and I've felt the ups and I've felt the downs. I don't feel the pressure from that at all."

• He added: "We want to succeed and we want to win and we want to be part of something successful, so that's the drive. There's no negativity around that. It's embracing the challenge and embracing what we can possibly do."

• On facing Atletico Madrid away and needing a fast start: "We definitely need to start strong tomorrow evening. Pretty obvious coming to a place like this against a very good team with a lot of experience in this competition."

• He added: "We know what we're expecting tomorrow night" and that his side will be "ready for it".

Hear more from Carrick above or on BBC Sounds here

Listen to full match commentary of Atletico Madrid v Manchester United on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds on Tuesday

A new episode of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast is available to listen to and download now on BBC Sounds.

Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath lament United's worst start to a league season in 40 years after Saturday's disappointing draw against 10-man Tottenham at Old Trafford.

Plus, the panel look forward to a trip to Madrid to face Atletico in the Champions League on Tuesday, and a visit to old rivals Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Manchester United content on BBC Sounds

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United pair Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw were both missing from training on Monday before the Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid.

Mainoo pulled out of England's recent Nations League campaign because of injury, but completed the full 90 minutes in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Tottenham.

Shaw, who missed training before the opening Champions League game against Sabah last month because he was on a "designated rest day", also started against Spurs but was taken off in injury-time.

In their absence, young midfielder Jack Fletcher and defender Dan Armer trained with Michael Carrick's squad.

Defender Noussair Mazraoui, who missed the Tottenham game after picking up an injury on international duty with Morocco, was also missing, along with longer-term absentees Benjamin Sesko and Patrick Dorgu.

A decision around Mainoo and Shaw travelling to Madrid will be taken on Monday afternoon.

Shaw's absence raises the potential for Leny Yoro and Diogo Dalot occupying the full-back berths against Atletico, with the only other option being 19-year-old Harry Amass.

Matthijs de Ligt, who has been out of action since November with a back issue that eventually required surgery, did train. He has been part of Carrick's squad for the past two games but is yet to get a place on the bench.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester United and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Man Utd fans

Steve: It's plainly obvious that Tielemans is not the right midfield partner for Mainoo. Man Utd need someone with a bit of pace and energy to accompany Mainoo to have an effective midfield platform. Baleba or Santos would both provide this and I am not sure why Carrick doesn't see this.

Dave: Only one team in this game and it wasn't United. Absolutely rubbish, embarrassing, everything too slow. I think it's time for Carrick to walk.

Chris: Some big changes are needed from Carrick in the next games. Martinez is a liability in defence with both goals in the last two games a result of his poor defending. Tielemans shouldn't be in midfield as he got caught out too many times. Yoro needs to start in the centre to add more composure and presence - he had a good game versus Spurs. Baleba was bright and positive when he came on so he should start with Mainoo in midfield. Big games ahead for Michael Carrick!

Hugo: Very poor performance. We had no control in first half. It was lucky they were not four goals down by half time. Total lack of quality in the play. It was slow, with no drive or energy and poor passing all over the pitch. Is it lack of confidence? Or bad tactics and understanding of what they are doing.

Tottenham fans

Errol: I thought we dominated the first hour of the game and could have scored five goals if we had taken our chances. We showed plenty of character and determination too after going a goal down and then down to 10 men. Hope we can take this performance into our next game and finally get three points.

Chris: An encouraging performance by Spurs. We now need to start scoring more goals.

Geoff: Gritty to get the equaliser, but poor finishing after a promising and dominant start... again.

Martin: We should have been two or three up at half time. The game should have been over. We were so dominant but it's goals that count. We should have won that game.

Rogers: Good performance first half but incapable of scoring. Except for the Brentford game we have dominated large parts of every game but we have no goalscorer and it's difficult to see how that is going to change.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens cannot wait to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League to get rid of the "sour taste" of another Premier League disappointment.

United failed to hold on to their advantage after Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for Tottenham at Old Trafford and in the end had to settle for a 1-1 draw, which on the balance of play was the least the visitors deserved.

It was not the way to move into a daunting run of three successive away games, which starts in the Metropolitano on Tuesday night.

But Lammens welcomes the meeting with Diego Simeone's side.

"After a disappointment, you can take that with you, or you can get it changed real quick," said the Belgium international.

"For me personally, if I don't have the best game, I'm looking forward to the next game to get that sour feeling out of my mouth. That's what the feeling we have to get."

For the second time this season, United threw away a victory by conceding in stoppage time.

While Lisandro Martinez was partly to blame for getting outmuscled by Tottenham skipper Dominic Solanke, who scored the equaliser, it was noticeable that neither Bryan Mbeumo nor Kobbie Mainoo got close enough to Sandro Tonali to stop the cross that led to the goal.

"The cross needs to be stopped," said Lammens. "We need to put more pressure on the guy with the ball, because his cross is too easy.

"Maybe comes down to a mistake from someone, but it doesn't really start with that.

"It's a team thing. The manager has been hammering a lot about defending as a team, being able to put pressure on the opposition, especially on the crosses.

"It was better, but then you see, one good cross, one good header, and the win can go away."

Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy looks at Manchester United's problems in midfield in their 1-1 draw against 10-man Tottenham.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp, on Sky Sports: "There was a lot of good things in this Tottenham performance. They were much better than United in every department but that is just a theme this whole season.

"I look at the United team and look at the squad, I find it hard to get a team that is going to compete week in, week out. They are just not strong enough."

Former Liverpool midfielder and Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy: "I was surprised at United. I thought they'd be better than that. And they lost a bit of confidence as the first half went on because Tottenham were good. Spurs had more energy, more quality and more urgency.

"The biggest difference I saw in the teams was the physicality, United looked lesser in that department. They didn't have the same power and the same pace as Tottenham. In midfield, especially. [Youri] Tielemans and [Kobbie] Mainoo - the gaps between them and the wide midfielders was too big.

"Tottenham were getting in all sorts of good positions and on another day, United could have been a couple down by half-time.

"United have got to find a system and the personnel to be more difficult to play against. Otherwise it's going to be really difficult to win matches."

Former Tottenham winger Chris Waddle, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think Tottenham looked promising there, first half they were very good. Second half United upped the tempo.

"Tottenham have played very well. United have got work to do. They've lost confidence and need to build that back up.

"But at the minute I think both teams will do OK this season. They just need confidence."

Emily Salley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United entered the international window with just two wins from seven matches, with those coming against newly promoted Ipswich Town and Champions League debutants Sabah.

After disappointing home defeats to Manchester City and Brighton before the three-week break, the hosts had a point to prove to their disgruntled supporters.

But the fans were left unimpressed again by a lethargic first-half performance, with their players appearing to lack energy as the visitors pressed high and dominated.

Mohammed Kudus swept a strike just wide and Conor Gallagher had a close-range attempt smothered by Senne Lammens, who came to United's rescue again after the restart when got a hand to Solanke's sliding effort.

They were handed another lifeline through Mbeumo's goal, but could not capitalise on that, nor Rodrigo Bentancur's dismissal as Lammens was left rooted to the spot as Solanke got in front of Lisandro Martinez to head in the leveller.

Boss Michael Carrick's position may not be under immediate threat, despite United's worst start after four games since the 1986-87 campaign, but the frustration vented by the home fans at full-time indicate there is growing concern over the team's mentality.

It won't help Carrick's case that this was the second successive league game they have dropped points against a team that were reduced to 10 men - following their 1-0 derby defeat by Manchester City last month.

Man Utd starting XI:

Senne Lammens: Made a major early error that could have had disastrous consequences but the Belgian recovered to make the save from Dominic Solanke. Miscontrol shortly afterwards showed more signs of nerves and pass straight out of play summed up United's first half hour. Might have done better for equaliser. 5

Leny Yoro (off 59, Dalot): Given a start after making France debut and excellent tackle to deny Jan Paul van Hecke a clear sight at goal. Decent effort. 7

Harry Maguire: Usual solid presence at the heart of the home defence but no chance to threaten at the other end and fact he did try a shot from 30 yards suggested lack. 7

Lisandro Martinez: Partnership with Maguire a plus point for United but was totally out-muscled by Solanke for Spurs' equaliser. 6

Luke Shaw: One of the home side's more consistent performers and got forward to force a corner early in the second period and made a vital intervention at the other end. Lucky to avoid red card for his reactionary shove on Rodrigo Bentancur? 6

Kobbie Mainoo: Caught in possession on too many occasions, even if the passes he was receiving inside his own half were ill-advised. Tried to get on the ball in deep lying midfield role. Excellent block to deny Savio. 7

Youri Tielemans (off 59, Baleba): Lucky to get away with being robbed by Savio deep in the United half due to debatable free-kick but calm in heading the ball back to Lammens to relieve pressure on home goal. 6

Amad Diallo (off 59, Zirkzee): Took a long time to get into the game on his first appearance of the season but eventually had home side's first shot. 6

Bruno Fernandes: Shadow of the player who deservedly won all the player of the year awards last season. Didn't shoot when had the chance suggests confidence levels have dipped. 5

Matheus Cunha: Reaction to negativity from the stands shows he cares but, like many, yet to reach last term's levels. Provided the pass for Mbuemo's goal. 6

Bryan Mbeumo: Didn't have enough support to be effective in the lead striking role but led one counter and turned smartly to score United's goal. 8

Man Utd substitutes:

Diogo Dalot (on 59, Yoro): Nearly set up Bruno Fernandes with cross from the right. 5

Carlos Baleba (on 59, Tielemans): Introduction injected life into home fans and made plenty of tackles. 5

Joshua Zirkzee (on 59, Amad): Quickly into action to force a corner and let Tottenham know he was there. 6

Ayden Heaven (on 90, Shaw). 5

Marcus Rashford (on 90, Cunha). 5

Subs not used: Karl Darlow, Mason Mount, Andrey Santos, Shea Lacey.

Read the full article and see how you rated the players