Michael Carrick said Manchester United need to become more “streetwise” and “stubborn” after they blew a late lead against 10-man Tottenham to draw 1-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday.
United have taken just six points from their opening six Premier League games, their lowest haul at this stage of a league campaign for 30 years.
Solanke was handed the captain’s armband by De Zerbi in a surprise move and repaid the faith shown by his coach with a first away league goal since April 2025.
“I wanted to put him as captain to show my confidence and the confidence of the team, because all other players were happy when I said Dominic Solanke was captain,” added De Zerbi.
Carrick’s men were booed off at half-time and at the end of the match after a Tottenham side that began the day bottom of the table dominated for large spells. Spurs remain without a league win this season, but Roberto De Zerbi was heartened by the response of his side.
“It’s different type of goals but it’s definitely something that, whether 10 men or not 10 men, if we’re leading the game, we’ve got to see games out,” added Carrick. “In that moment with 10 players maybe we played with more courage, we played with more energy and we changed again the game,” said the Italian.
