Manchester United have taken just four points from their opening four Premier League games, matching their worst start to a season in the competition and putting Michael Carrick under early pressure.
Gary Neville has described Sunday’s trip to Fulham as a “real pressure game” for the United manager after another disappointing performance in the Manchester derby.
Carrick has one substantial complaint about that defeat.
Pro Ref has acknowledged that Erling Haaland’s winning goal should not have stood following a VAR error.
That explains the result.
It does not explain the performance.
Manchester City played with 10 men for more than an hour and United still failed to score.
Neville’s concern extends beyond the derby. Four games into the season, United have collected four points and already find themselves confronting questions that looked unlikely after last year’s third-place finish.
Carrick’s work last season earned him the permanent job.
The opening weeks of this campaign have produced a sharp reversal.
United can reasonably argue that one refereeing mistake cost them a point against City.
They cannot build an explanation for four points from four around one VAR decision.
That makes Fulham considerably more important than a fifth league game normally would be.
Win, and United have something to build from.
Another poor performance and the conversation around Carrick will become considerably harder to contain.
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