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We did not play well: Carrick reflects on Manchester United’s defeat to AC Milan
16th August, 2026 06:51 AM
Head coach Michael Carrick believes Manchester United can take plenty of encouragement from their preparations for the new Premier League season, even though the Reds ended pre-season with a 4-2 loss to AC Milan in Poland on Saturday, August 15, 2026.
United twice found themselves ahead at the Tarczynski Arena, with Harry Maguire and Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu getting on the scoresheet. Samuel Chukwueze had earlier brought Milan level before the Italian side took control during the closing stages.
Milan struck three times in the final 35 minutes through Alphadjo Cisse, Goncalo Ramos and former Chelsea player Ruben Loftus-Cheek to hand United their second defeat in six pre-season games.
Carrick’s side had also suffered a narrow defeat against Wrexham at the beginning of their preparations. However, they responded with victories over Rosenborg and Atletico Madrid, while also drawing against Paris Saint-Germain and overcoming Leeds United on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate.
The squad gradually became stronger as players returned from their post-World Cup breaks, with United completing fixtures across Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Republic of Ireland and Poland.
With the Premier League opener against Hull City now approaching, Carrick remains satisfied with the work completed during the summer.
Carrick confident United are prepared
Speaking to MUTV after the Milan defeat, Carrick admitted the final performance was below expectations but stressed that the overall pre-season campaign had been encouraging.
“I think, as a whole, it’s been very good,” Carrick told MUTV’s Mark Sullivan at the end of the match.
“I think there are a lot of positives to take from it. I think a lot of the performances, the group’s grown and got stronger. So overall, I think [it’s been positive] barring today, we’re disappointed with today. We didn’t play well today, so there’s reasons for that.
“We need to learn from [it]. We need to improve. Some of the boys playing some of their first minutes, there are different reasons, no excuses, we just we didn’t play very well today.
“But on the whole, we’re ready for next week. I think a lot of the boys will be better for the minutes and, as I say, we’ve done a lot of work on the training pitch. I think the performances in the games have been pretty good, so we’re still in good spirits going into next week.”
The Milan encounter also marked the return of Kobbie Mainoo, Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford, who were introduced after the interval following their delayed return from international duty.
Bruno Fernandes, Senne Lammens, Maguire, Luke Shaw and Youri Tielemans were among those who played the entire match as Carrick continued to assess his squad before the competitive campaign begins.
United have one more week to prepare
Competition for starting positions is expected to remain intense as United return to Carrington for their final week of preparation before travelling to Hull City for the season opener.
Carrick acknowledged that he still has important selection decisions to make but believes the team will benefit from another week of training.
“We’ve got a good squad, so there are decisions to be made,” the boss said, looking forward to the clash at the MKM Stadium. “We’ve got a good week’s training this week as well to get some more work in. So we’ll be ready for next week. I think there’s a whole different feeling when it’s the first league game of the season, and we’ll be there.
“The boys will have a day off tomorrow (Sunday) and then [will be] in for the rest of the week,” Carrick added, later in the interview. “Five days of training in different ways. Sometimes it’s a little bit harder, sometimes it’s a little bit more of a recovery [session].
“But we’ll work through the week and be better for it. I think we look forward to it again. Having a whole squad back home, back at Carrington, and looking forward to the start.”
United will therefore use the coming days to sharpen their preparations before the Premier League season gets underway, with Carrick hoping the lessons from the Milan defeat will help his players enter the new campaign in better shape.
