Carrick hails United’s ‘spirit’ in dramatic West Ham draw

Abdullateef Fowewe

Manchester United manager, Michael Carrick has praised his team’s defensive grit and unyielding spirit after a thrilling 1-1 stoppage-time draw against West Ham on Tuesday, crediting key recovery efforts that prevented a damaging defeat.

In a press conference on Friday, Carrick highlighted standout moments from the match, including Leny Yoro’s vital defending.

“The spirit Leny Yoro defending the two counterattacks and putting two big challenges in and seeing Bryan Mbeumo’s recovery runs and Amad’s recovery runs to,” he said, underscoring the collective effort.

Carrick stressed that true resilience shines in adversity, “It’s quite easy to lose that game 2-0 in them circumstances, but that’s when the spirit counts.”

He elaborated on his philosophy, telling players that “spirit doesn’t just come from scoring late and the big highlights, the spirit comes from tougher situations and finding your way through it and working together.”

The draw was sealed by Benjamin Sesko’s equaliser in added time, salvaging a point after West Ham had threatened to pull away.

Carrick lauded the “sacrifice that they give ultimately lets us take something from the game,” adding, “that connection, that spirit, that’s what we’ve got to use for the good and for the tough situations as well.”

This result aligns with Carrick’s unbeaten start since taking charge, bolstered by January triumphs over Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Fulham—earning him Premier League Manager of the Month honours and fueling optimism at Old Trafford.