Leeds 1-1 Man Utd: Carrick Claims 'Fresh Start' as Winless Run Stretches to Six Games

I have watched Manchester United find new ways to disappoint for the better part of three decades, and I can tell you this one had a different flavour. It was not a collapse. It was not a capitulation. It was something almost worse for the men in charge: a performance that looked like progress while delivering the exact same nothing. Leeds United 1-1 Manchester United at Elland Road on Sunday, a draw that stretched United's winless run to six games in all competitions — and still Michael Carrick called it a "fresh start".

Photo: Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 de). An aerial view of Elland Road, where Leeds held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw.

The goals tell the story in miniature. Bryan Mbeumo, United's best player by a distance, flicked home Youri Tielemans' low cross in the 35th minute — the same combination that had nearly worked ten minutes earlier. Leeds, who had 61 per cent of the ball and the better of the second half, levelled six minutes after the restart when Dominic Calvert-Lewin volleyed past Senne Lammens after Tarik Muharemovic flicked on Anton Stach's corner. Another set piece. Another lead thrown away.

Man Utd winless run: six games and counting

Let us be precise about how bad this is, because the numbers are doing heavy lifting this season. United have not won since beating Sabah in their Champions League opener in early September. They sit 13th in the Premier League with seven points from seven games — their fewest wins at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1986/87. Read that again. Nobody at Old Trafford was alive in the dugout the last time it looked like this.

Carrick, to his credit, did not hide. "We're not getting too carried away because we haven't won the game," he said. "I think if you keep doing the right things for the right reasons then you get what you deserve in the end. It felt like a bit of a fresh start, if I'm honest." He added that he was realistic about the situation, but had "no doubts that we can go on a good run." Managers in trouble always reach for the fresh start. The table does not care about fresh starts.

The Martinez sideshow and a tactical reshuffle

The week had been dominated by off-field noise. Lisandro Martinez publicly criticised the club's hierarchy over the lack of summer investment following the 2-0 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid — and was fined for it. Carrick still started him at Elland Road, then hooked him at half-time with a thigh problem. Reports suggest the Argentine's comments have stalled his contract talks and deepened the unrest. Starting a player who just torched the board, then losing him at the interval, is very 2026 Manchester United.

Tactically, there was something new: no recognised striker, Tielemans pushed into an advanced creative role, five at the back out of possession. It made United harder to break down, and Leeds still carved them open repeatedly — Stach wasted the clearest chance of the game after Diogo Dalot headed the ball straight to him. Structure without threat is just a slower way to draw.

What comes next for Carrick

The fixture list offers no sympathy. United travel to Como on Wednesday chasing a first win in six weeks, then host Bournemouth trying to kickstart a league campaign that is already drifting. Leeds, meanwhile, will feel they dropped two points — Daniel Farke's side are seventh, three points clear of their rivals, and played the second half like the better team.

Here is the uncomfortable truth Carrick is dancing around. A point at Elland Road, in a derby, after the week United had, is defensible in isolation. But five league games without a win, one victory in seven, 13th place — that is not a blip, it is a pattern. "Sometimes you do struggle," Carrick said, "sometimes you have to find a way through it." United supporters have been waiting for someone to find the way through for some time now.

Sources

• theScore — Carrick: Man United's draw with Leeds feels like 'fresh start'
• Sports Mole — Leeds 1-1 Man Utd: highlights, stats, man of the match
• FotMob — Leeds United 1-1 Manchester United: Carrick's men pegged back as winless run continues