Michael Carrick conceded his Manchester United side deserved to suffer their first defeat of his second spell as interim manager after William Osula’s 90th-minute strike condemned them to a 2-1 loss at Newcastle United.
United had gone seven games unbeaten since Carrick took charge in January, and they appeared in an excellent position to extend that run when Newcastle midfielder Jacob Ramsey was controversially sent off late in the first half, receiving a second yellow for simulation.
But moments after his dismissal, Newcastle took the lead as Anthony Gordon went down under a challenge from Bruno Fernandes and then converted from the penalty spot.
Casemiro levelled with a header deep into first-half stoppage time, but United failed to make the most of their extra man thereafter.
Aaron Ramsdale made a pair of brilliant saves to deny Lenny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee to frustrate United, but a depleted Newcastle side were never truly stretched, and Carrick’s men paid the price for an underwhelming showing as substitute Osula spectacularly bent beyond Senne Lammens after a superb run down the right.
Carrick: Manchester United not good enough
United stay third in the Premier League table but missed a chance to strengthen their grip on a Champions League spot after a round of fixtures that saw Liverpool lose at Wolves and Aston Villa’s slide continue with a 4-1 home loss to Chelsea.
And Carrick accepted his players deserved nothing from the game.
“We are not happy the way we played tonight,” Carrick told TNT Sports
“The way the game panned out, we had it in our hands largely but credit to Newcastle and they way they approached it. We knew it would be tough, but we navigated the game to a position where we could kick on but we didn’t. Bitterly disappointed really.
“I don’t think it was the [difficulty of playing] 10 men, we just didn’t play good enough. We can’t make excuses for that. We all take responsibility for that.
“It was just the quality of the performance, it wasn’t character or wanting to win, it’s easy to throw that just because you don’t win a game of football.
“Newcastle deserved to win tonight, it hurts me to say that. That is how it was. We need to get back to work and be better for the next game.
“We’ve lost one game, we haven’t played well enough but in the grand scheme of things we are in a decent position. Tonight hurts but we will be better for the next one.
“You have to get back at it, work hard and do the things we did to win the games we’ve won. We can do that, we are a good team, tonight wasn’t for us.
“We have to learn from it and get better for it. We had a lot of praise lately and the boys deserve it, this doesn’t change how we approach the next game. We’ve got everything to play for.”
Howe hails Osula effort
Newcastle had lost their last three league games at St James’ Park, slumping to a 3-2 loss to Everton last time out. However, their performance against United was in stark contrast to that showing, while their response to going a man down delighted manager Eddie Howe.
The Magpies had dictated the midfield in the first half, making the loss of Ramsey all the more damaging.
Ramsey was ruled by referee Peter Bankes to have intentionally gone down under a challenge from Lammens as he attempted to latch on to Gordon’s pass, though Howe took a different view.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, he said: “An amazing night. It was a great performance all the way through. 11 v 11 or 11 v 10. I thought we deserved to win.
“The main emotion [after Ramsey’s red] was trying to work out how we’d play in that second half. We wanted to regroup. I thought Jacob Ramsey’s sending off was really harsh. I don’t think he’s looking for a penalty there.
“We knew we wouldn’t have the majority of the ball and that we’d have to defend well. There have been a lot of questions about our defending lately, so it was a good opportunity to answer those questions and we did.”
Praising Ramsdale, who replaced Nick Pope after his glaring error in the defeat to Everton, Howe added: “At 10 men, you know your goalkeeper is going to have saves to make. He’s a top-class goalkeeper with really good experience.”
But the most effusive plaudits were reserved for unlikely hero Osula, whose first Premier League goal since August was undoubtedly the most memorable strike of his career to this point.
“He did 10 shots at the end of training and he wanted more,” said Howe. “Fair play to him. It’s the desire to repeat and to practice. He’s delivered an amazing moment for the supporters here. It’s a great moment for him and he deserves it. Hopefully it’s a turning point for him.
“A big moment for us. We’ve proved we’re competitive against any team.”
