The Old Trafford skipper was a shell of himself again during Manchester United‘s third straight 1-1 Premier League draw.
Carrick, of course, insisted it was business as usual, projecting calm as the public face of the club after a rocky week dominated by the fallout from Lisandro Martinez‘s outburst.
Carrick told journalists at Elland Road: “No, he’s all right, no, it’s not a big deal. He is absolutely fine.”
But Carrick also said United’s sixth game without a win was a “fresh start” for the club hitting 13th in the table with two wins from ten.
He stretched it even further by dubbing it a “quiet week behind the scenes,” apparently assuming nobody noticed Martinez apologising for publicly torching the board’s transfer policy.
Twice this week Carrick has spoken of a Fernandes “injury niggle” but stressed there was nothing to worry about on Sunday. But their talisman’s performances before and since have suggested otherwise.
Yet Carrick again kept the out-of-sorts club captain on the pitch until the final whistle for the seventh successive league game. Such is Fernandes’ ability to pull something out of nothing.
The mention of an injury was perhaps an attempt to deflect the mounting scrutiny facing the reigning Prem player of the season.
The 32-year-old was crowned the best of the best in the most scrutinised league in the world, chalking up 21 assists to break the all-time record held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Yet at the start of what was meant to be a new United era, the midfielder’s form has become an unexpected problem for Carrick, an avatar of where United sit. Anybody with eyes can see that Fernandes is well off it.
He has gone five Prem matches without scoring or assisting – his longest run since April-May 2025. Carrick denied that his positional changes, with Fernandes being shunted to the right wing in the 2-0 loss at Atletico Madrid midweek and as a false nine at Leeds, have affected his mood or form. But he would say that.
Kobbie Mainoo’s injury has prompted a reshuffle, pushing Youri Tielemans into Fernandes’ preferred No 10 role while new signings Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba lined up in midfield. Tielemans has enjoyed his best week since joining after facing criticism for his ability to cover ground from deep during the first eight games. The fact Fernandes stayed on all match is a concern, a sign that Carrick is forcing square pegs into round holes to keep him on the pitch.
Carrick said: “He was through the middle today and played a slightly different position in midweek, but apart from that, it’s pretty much as usual.
“He’s an important part of our team. He has been for us for some time, and that’s not changing.
“There was a freshness to the group. You look at the midfield with Carlos and Andrey, that’s a pretty fresh spine of the team, through the middle of the pitch. Both young players are adapting to life at this football club. They were terrific today.”
Yet a five-minute compilation could be made of all of Fernandes’ head-loss moments at Leeds. Booked on 17 minutes for mouthing off at ref Darren England after a late challenge on Leeds star Tarik Muharemovic, the hot-head kept sulking.
Daniel Farke’s players clocked that the more tackles they made, the more United’s fuming skipper would combust. There was still time for one final complaint, as he screamed to the gods after a stepover didn’t come off late on. United have long tolerated his on-pitch petulance, but his dedication had never faced serious scrutiny—until now.
There is a suggestion that he appears fed up with false promises made by the club’s recruitment department and ambition shown in the summer.
Entering his final year with a club-held option to extend it by a year, Fernandes is in a contract stalemate. — Sun
