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Manchester United Six Games Without Win After 1-1 Draw at Leeds

Carrick says he had his headphones on and missed the noise around the club, as Lisandro Martinez's criticism of recruitment adds to the pressure

By AXY Sports Desk ·

Reporting via BBC Sport
Reporting via BBC Sport (BBC Sport)

Key points

Manchester United's winless run has stretched to six games after a 1-1 draw at Leeds United, leaving manager Michael Carrick with little to celebrate beyond a goal from Bryan Mbeumo at Elland Road. Carrick told BBC Radio 5 Live that he had the headphones on during the week and so had not heard the external noise around the club. The statistics are hard to ignore, however. Mbeumo has now scored four goals in seven Premier League games, and his form is one of the few clear positives in a season that has tested the patience of Manchester United supporters.

The result at Elland Road

The draw means Manchester United have now gone six matches without a victory. In the Premier League, a win earns three points, a draw earns one and a defeat earns none, so a point at a rival's ground is useful but does not move a side up the table as much as three would. Leeds is a difficult place to visit, and a team that avoids defeat there can reasonably claim a modest achievement. Yet for a club of United's size and history, a run of six games without a win is significant, and it has quickly become the central theme of their season.

The match followed a similar pattern to United's recent outing at Atletico Madrid. According to the BBC report, United also gave a reasonable account of themselves on Tuesday in Madrid, despite conceding inside the first minute. Results in both games suggest a team that can compete and withstand pressure, but the same pattern also points to a side that is not yet turning competitive performances into points. Football analysts often describe this as the gap between performance and results, and it is one of the main problems for any manager trying to stop a losing run from becoming a crisis.

Mbeumo's goals and a thin spread of scoring

Mbeumo, the Cameroon forward, has been the most visible attacking figure in Carrick's side this season. His four goals in seven league games give him a strong return for a player who is still establishing himself as a regular scorer at the club. Apart from Bruno Fernandes, who scored a hat-trick against Ipswich in August, no one else in Carrick's squad has scored more than one goal, according to the BBC report. That fact highlights how much United are relying on a small group of players to create and finish chances.

For a team that has struggled to find consistent goalscoring, that dependence carries risk. If Mbeumo is closely marked or goes through a quieter spell, United have few obvious alternatives who have shown they can score regularly. Goal supply is one of the first things analysts examine when a side is struggling, because a team that creates chances from several sources is harder to stop than one that depends on a single finisher. The spread of goals across the squad is therefore likely to be a central question for Carrick in the coming weeks, particularly as the team searches for the wins that have so far eluded it.

Carrick's response and the Martinez criticism

The most unusual element of the build-up was not on the pitch. Before the game, defender Lisandro Martinez criticised sporting director Jason Wilcox and the United hierarchy, arguing that the club had failed to recruit effectively during the summer. A sporting director is typically the senior executive responsible for football strategy, including player recruitment and contract planning, so a public attack on that role goes to the heart of how the club builds its squad. The summer period is when clubs usually bring in new players ahead of the season, so criticism of recruitment is a direct challenge to how the club has been run.

Carrick’s response was to say he had the headphones on that week and had therefore not heard the external noise created by Martinez’s comments. His answer suggested he wants attention kept on results and performances rather than on the debate around recruitment. He also acknowledged that his side must win matches at some point, a simple admission but an important one given how long the team has gone without a victory.

Public criticism of this kind from a player is rare at a club with Manchester United’s profile, and it raises questions about how squad relationships are being managed. Players who feel frustrated with the squad they have been given can become a source of tension, especially when the team is losing. For the club, the key issue is whether the disagreement can be handled internally without spilling into the dressing room or affecting team performance on the pitch.

How this run compares with recent seasons

Six games without a win is the worst such run for Manchester United since 2018-19, when form nosedived after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was confirmed as permanent manager. That period is remembered by many supporters as a time when the team struggled to find a consistent identity, and comparisons with it are likely to be drawn by fans and commentators. The comparison matters because it places the current difficulties within a longer pattern of inconsistency at the club.

The timing of the Martinez comments also invites comparison with last season. After the corresponding fixture at Leeds, Ruben Amorim gave an explosive press conference that triggered his dismissal within 24 hours. This time, the explosive moment came before the game, and it was Martinez rather than the manager who lit the touchpaper. The difference is important, but the parallel is clear: a row at a difficult moment can quickly become a test of the club’s leadership. Managerial changes, shifts in playing style and squad rebuilds have all been part of United’s recent history, and each has tended to bring its own period of uncertainty for supporters.

Why the standard of performance is in question

Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports, offered a sharp assessment of the result. He said that because United had not lost at Leeds, people were thinking the club had done all right. He argued that this view was itself a negative. “In some ways that is a negative,” Carragher said. “We are dropping the standards. We shouldn’t really be talking about Manchester United like that.”

Carragher’s comments reflect a wider debate about what counts as progress at a club that has historically been measured against the highest standards in English football. A point away from home can be a useful result for a struggling side, but a club expected to challenge for major honours faces a higher bar. When a team is judged by what it avoids rather than what it achieves, supporters may feel that expectations have shifted. That is the concern Carragher raised, and it explains why the result has been read as more than a routine point in a difficult season.

What to watch next

The immediate priority for Carrick is to turn creditable performances into wins. Analysts are likely to watch closely how the team responds in its next fixtures, particularly whether the attack can create enough chances to avoid depending on single moments of brilliance. The balance between defensive stability and creative output will be central, especially after the early concession at Atletico Madrid showed how quickly a game can slip away. A side that concedes early has to find a way to win from behind, which requires both composure and an attack that can score when the chances come.

Off the pitch, the Martinez situation and the questions around recruitment under Wilcox will also demand attention. How the club handles those issues internally may shape the atmosphere around the squad as much as results do. If the winless run continues, pressure on the club’s leadership is likely to grow. A return to winning form would ease the noise and give Carrick more room to build, while a continued run without victories would make the questions about standards and recruitment harder to set aside.

For now, the outcome at Leeds gives Manchester United a point, a goal from a player in strong form and an opportunity to halt a run that has become the defining storyline of their season. Whether that opportunity is taken in the games ahead will be the clearest signal of whether the club is moving in the right direction.

Questions and answers

Why is Manchester United's winless run significant?

Six games without a win is the worst run for Manchester United since 2018-19, when form nosedived after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was confirmed as permanent manager. It has placed pressure on manager Michael Carrick to turn performances into results.

How many goals has Bryan Mbeumo scored this season?

Bryan Mbeumo has scored four goals in seven Premier League games this season, including a goal in the 1-1 draw at Leeds United at Elland Road.

What did Lisandro Martinez say before the Leeds game?

Lisandro Martinez criticised sporting director Jason Wilcox and the United hierarchy for failing, in his view, to recruit effectively during the summer. Michael Carrick said he had his headphones on and had not heard the noise around the comments.

What happens next for Manchester United?

Carrick needs to turn competitive performances into wins, and the club must handle the fallout from Martinez's comments about recruitment. Continued results without victories are likely to increase pressure on the club's leadership.

Topics: Manchester United, Michael Carrick, Bryan Mbeumo, Leeds United, Premier League, Lisandro Martinez, Jason Wilcox

Sources: BBC Sport

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