Every honeymoon period has to end eventually. And William Osula provided a 90th-minute dagger to end Manchester United’s unbeaten league start under Michael Carrick.
Newcastle United’s collective determination and aggression were enough to overcome a chaotic first half of football where the home side were reduced to 10 men, went a goal ahead via a penalty, and then lost the lead through a Casemiro equaliser.
United have been the beneficiary of three red cards awarded to the opposition in Carrick’s eight games in charge, but where they found a way to punish Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace with their numerical advantage, they struggled to break down Newcastle’s more physical rebuttal.
This 2-1 defeat is a blow and should prove a moment for self-examination for the club’s coaching staff and playing squad.
United have been increasingly wobbly in recent fixtures. Injuries to Patrick Dorgu and Lisandro Martinez have disrupted a group that wants to progress the ball through quick, incisive passing. Carrick’s men have toiled in first halves against West Ham, Everton and Crystal Palace, only to discover some attacking verve later in the game.
Casemiro provided an equaliser deep into first-half stoppage time, but United failed to kick on (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Carrick’s side have struggled on their left flank in recent weeks, attacking in a manner too narrow and too slow to trouble most Premier League defences. They have struggled to sustain attacks and can struggle to keep the ball in the final third after the initial attempt is rebuffed.
United’s intensity on and off the ball has not been at the same level as it was in late January. Bruno Fernandes remains superb at getting a lot from a little, but there are matches where even he can struggle to squeeze enough juice from this imperfect squad. There have been games under Carrick where United have been both lucky and good. There have been matches where a fortunate bounce of the ball has compensated for an unfortunate lack of structure.
Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat saw enough of these long-standing issues become too obvious to overcome, and United players were frequently too slow to react to the situations put in front of them. Newcastle played the entirety of the second half with 10 men, but they physically and mentally wore United down to the point where they struggled to make correct decisions.
Carrick, who normally cuts a stoic, calm figure in the dugout, could frequently be seen making a “faster” motion with his hands throughout the game. Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee tested Aaron Ramsdale with chances, but it was Osula who provided the game’s winning goal. The 22-year-old pushed his body to its very limit to outpace Tyrell Malacia before cutting and shooting past Harry Maguire and Senne Lammens.
Every honeymoon period has to end, eventually. But Carrick doesn’t appear worried about one defeat souring a previously good relationship.
“We are not satisfied with our performance,” the interim head coach said after the game. “We knew it would be difficult, but it was a match we could have won. We are deeply disappointed.”
Carrick prefers to keep his cards close to his chest in his post-match press conferences. He said he did not wish to “dissect the performance” behind the 2-1 loss, and he did not believe Newcastle’s going down to 10 men gave his team an additional challenge.
“I don’t think we played good enough tonight. We can’t make any excuses for that. We all take responsibility for that, and we know.”
Michael Carrick contemplates defeat after the game (George Wood/Getty Images)
Wednesday was United’s first league defeat of 2026, and only the second game in which they have dropped points in the period since Carrick took over. But the team will require more running power, incisive passing and proper width to bounce back in future matches.
And that will be difficult without some help from the medical department. United’s second-half changes saw several of the squad’s technical inadequacies bubble back to the surface. Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot replaced Casemiro and Luke Shaw shortly past the hour, reducing the team’s threat from set pieces and removing another left-footed player from the line-up.
Ugarte offers some of Casemiro’s combative tackling, but little of his progressive passing. His playing relationship with Kobbie Mainoo lacks the harmony that Sandro Tonali and Joelinton provide Eddie Howe’s side. Mainoo himself was off-colour against Newcastle, unable to connect play and weave through tight spaces as fans have come to expect.
The last throw of the dice came in the 77th minute, with Carrick bringing on Amad for Mainoo and Zirkzee for Mbeumo. Yet the search for solutions resulted only in more disenchantment. The five minutes that followed Osula’s late strike saw Fernandes collecting the ball deep within his own half. At the same time, Maguire ventured into opposition territory to serve as an emergency centre-forward — rarely a sign of a functioning game plan.
In previous weeks, United have embraced chaotic situations and found ways to thrive (or at least survive). Against Newcastle, they looked more formulaic with each additional adjustment. United’s improved league position means every victory increases talk of Carrick taking the managerial role permanently. His first defeat will likely start new conversations. Should the interim head coach stay an interim? And how will he and his coaching staff use the next 10 days to plan for Aston Villa’s visit to Old Trafford?
Villa’s defeat on Wednesday evening means United stay in third place on goal difference, but Chelsea — plus Liverpool — are now three points back. A four-team battle for up to three Champions League places will only intensify over the final weeks of the season.
The confidence that began Carrick’s spell in charge will need to be matched with new cunning and craft. His honeymoon period is over, but one defeat should not extinguish the side’s rediscovered spark.
