Michael Carrick has admitted Manchester United were below the required standard in their final pre-season game after they were beaten 4-2 by AC Milan in Wroclaw.
United twice took the lead through Harry Maguire and Patrick Dorgu, but collapsed after the break as Ruben Amorim’s side turned the game around.
Carrick had almost his strongest available squad at his disposal, with Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez all making their first appearances of pre-season after being given extended time off following the World Cup.
The changes made after an hour ultimately failed to have the desired effect, with United losing control of the contest.
“We’re disappointed because we didn’t play well enough,” Carrick told MUTV.
“There are reasons for that, with some players getting their first minutes and different things going on, but there are no excuses. We have to learn from it and improve.
“Some of the lads were playing their first minutes, so there are different factors, but we still have to perform better.”
Red Devils still in a good place
Despite the defeat, Carrick believes United’s overall preparations have left them in a good position heading into the new campaign.
The loss leaves United with three wins, one draw and two defeats from their six pre-season fixtures, but the manager feels the work done away from matchdays has been encouraging.
“We’re ready for next week,” he added.
“A lot of the players will be better for having those minutes. We’ve done a lot of work on the training pitch and, overall, I think the performances in the other games have been good.
“We’re still in good spirits going into next week.”
Carrick also praised the progress made by the squad throughout the summer, despite the disappointing finish in Poland.
“It’s been a very good pre-season,” he said.
“There’s a lot of positives to take from it. The group has grown and become stronger.”
United will now return to Manchester before beginning their final preparations for their opening Premier League fixture against newly promoted Hull City next Saturday.
