It was shocking — Michael Carrick shared 3 opinions after Leeds defeat

Manchester United’s head coach, Michael Carrick, displayed a range of emotions following the 2-1 defeat to Leeds United at Old Trafford.

The caretaker coach admitted his team started the game poorly, but his countenance soon shifted to anger, decrying major referee decisions from the match, before he hailed his players for their resilient showing in the second half.

Addressing their flat-footed start, which saw them go 2-0 behind before the half-hour mark to Noah Okafor’s brace, he stated, "We didn't start the game particularly well,” the BBC reported.

Carrick’s fury was reserved for the officiating in the game. He suggested that the first goal should have been ruled out for a foul on Leny Yoro; he also vehemently disagreed with the decision to send Lisandro Martinez off for seemingly tugging Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s neatly bunned ponytail.

“We obviously conceded when Leny Yoro gets a forearm smash in the back of the head and they score the first goal.

"They didn't decide to overturn that decision. That was a big moment in the game. We didn't quite have the rhythm, we didn't click, we had some moments but it wasn't quite there for large parts of the first half.

"But second half, I thought the boys the way they went about it, stayed positive and fought to get something out of it after another shocking, shocking decision to send [Lisandro Martinez] off. 

‘Two games in a row we've had decisions like that go against us but that one was one of the worst I've seen."

Pressed to speak further about the sending off, Carrick accused the referee of inconsistency, citing the Leny Yoro incident that led to the first goal.

"You can elbow Leny Yoro for the first goal, leaning arm obviously, you can throw your arm in Martinez's face and then as he's off balance because of that, he's half grappling, he half touches the back of his hair which pulls the bobble to come out.

"I don't even know what it looks like. It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive. He touches it and he gets send off. Worse of all, he gets send to overturn it, a clear and obvious error. Shocking."

The controversial incident occurred in the 56th minute when Martinez was shown a straight red card by referee Paul Tierney following a VAR monitor review. 

The defender was dismissed for violent conduct after he appeared to pull the hair of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin during a physical altercation.

The controversial dismissal left a lacklustre Manchester United with an insurmountable mountain to climb, having already conceded a first-half brace to Noah Okafor in the opening 30 minutes. 

Despite being reduced to 10 men, the Red Devils pulled one back through a Casemiro header aided by Bruno Fernandes’s delivery to the back post. However, the strike failed to spark a comeback.