Manchester United show stubbornness: Michael Carrick welcomes Ipswich return

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick praised his team’s mentality after they recovered from another early setback to beat Ipswich 5-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday. Bruno Fernandes led the response with a hat-trick as United bounced back from their opening weekend defeat to Hull City.

United found themselves behind again when Leif Davis put Ipswich ahead in the 29th minute to extend the lead memories of their disappointing 2-0 defeat at Hull. After the game, Carrick highlighted the way his players responded to falling behind and backed the figure to be an important part of United’s progress.

“You have to deal with setbacks. We talked before about trying to get past last week and then we had a little setback and went a goal behind.”

“To show the grit, belief, confidence and togetherness that the lads showed at that stage was really pleasing for me. The way they bounced back is probably the biggest takeaway.”

Fernandes finally pulled United back in the 40th minute with a powerful finish at the end from a counter-attack. The captain then converted a second-half penalty before completing his hat-trick to put United firmly in control.

BRUNO LEADS THE UNITED ANSWER

Carrick was full of praise for Fernandes, who has captained United since January 2020 and recently collected the Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards.

“He means a lot to us. He’s the captain, he’s been here for a good number of years,” Carrick said. “Times like today when you look at certain players to give us a little bit of something here and he did that particularly well.”

The Portuguese midfielder’s third goal came seven minutes after his penalty to give United a three-goal cushion. Bryan Mbeumo later added a fifth when he pounced on Fernandes’ pass and lifted the ball over the Ipswich keeper.

The result also saw United score five Premier League goals for the first time since their 5–1 win over Leeds on the opening day of the 2021–22 season, with Fernandes also scoring a hat-trick.

UNITED HAS HAD A DIFFICULT START

Carrick also hailed strong performances from Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo. Rashford made his first Premier League start for United since December 2024, while Mainoo returned to the starting XI and impressed in midfield.

“I thought Kobbie was tremendous for us in the middle of the pitch and he boosted the team’s performance,” Carrick said.

United produced 33 shots during the game, their highest total since registering 38 against Burnley in 2016. Ipswich added a late consolation through Chuka Akpom, but the result gave Carrick’s side their first league win of the season and a much-needed response to their opening weekend setback.

United now travel to face Everton in their next Premier League fixture on September 6 before kicking off their Champions League campaign at home to Sabah FK on September 10. The European schedule then brings an October trip against Atletico Madrid, which will provide Carrick’s side with an early test in both domestic and continental competition.

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Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

31 Aug 2026 08:24 IST