Manchester Evening News: Manchester United Have Conceded Too Many Goals Recently, Carrick Must Fix Defensive Weaknesses

According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United have conceded too many goals recently, and Carrick needs to solve the defensive problems as soon as possible.

On the surface, the data shows that Manchester United's defense has improved since Carrick took charge: the team conceded an average of 1.50 goals per game during Ten Hag's tenure, 1.29 during Amorim's period, while in Carrick's 20 matches in charge, the average number of goals conceded has been 1.15.

However, the sample size remains small, and the team's actual performances this season are still worrying. Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton have all scored twice against Manchester United in matches.

Everton scored twice at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, meaning that since Carrick took charge, Manchester United have conceded two goals in half of their matches. However, United have lost only three of those games and have also kept six clean sheets.

Manchester United's performances have therefore been difficult to predict: when keeping a clean sheet or conceding only one goal, the team has recorded eight wins and two draws; when conceding two goals, they still achieved five wins, two draws and three defeats.

Such a record is unlikely to continue. After drawing away against Everton, Carrick admitted that if the team wants to make further progress this season, it must strengthen its defense.

Carrick said: "Clearly there are still many areas where the team needs to improve, and we cannot ignore that. We must concede fewer goals to increase our chances of winning. We will certainly review this issue and continue to improve."

Manchester United have still collected many points despite conceding two goals on several occasions, which has been an above-average performance. But in the long term, scoring at least three goals every time after conceding two is not something they can achieve half of the time.

The challenge facing Carrick is to identify the reasons behind the frequent goals conceded and solve the problems. Against Ipswich Town and Everton, he fielded what was widely considered the team's best four-man defense: Dalot, Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw.

Martinez's passing remains excellent, but his defensive form has fluctuated, and Manchester United's overall defensive performance has also been poor. Everton's first goal came from passive defending by Manchester United, while the second resulted from a lack of organization in the back line. Against Hull City, United conceded twice through crosses, and Ipswich Town also created further threats from wide areas.

Mainoo and Tielemans have performed well in midfield, with Mainoo's defensive work especially impressive last week. However, after Baleba returns to fitness, he may provide a stronger presence in midfield and cover a larger area, helping the team improve defensively.

De Ligt is also pushing to return after the international break, and he could provide another option at center-back. Yoro has played more often as a right-back this season, but he should get opportunities at center-back in the Champions League match against Shabab or the League Cup match against Brighton.

Rather than changing personnel, the key to solving the problem may be optimizing the defensive system. One major positive since Carrick took charge has been improved training effectiveness at Manchester United's Carrington training ground.

This could once again become the key to solving the issue. Carrick's coaching staff includes former Premier League center-backs Evans and Jonathan Woodgate, and allowing them to lead some defensive training sessions could help the team achieve the defensive improvement that Carrick believes is essential.