Carrick says Manchester United have lost their way

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick said the team had “lost our way” and called its performance in Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat by Como unacceptable, as he sought to take responsibility and rally the club ahead of Sunday’s match against Bournemouth. Carrick opened Friday’s press conference with a lengthy statement before taking questions. He said United had not performed well enough recently after a spell of relative success, and acknowledged that the Como display had hurt him. He said his responsibility was to prepare a team that supporters could be proud of, adding that United had moved away from that standard in recent games. The manager said he remained confident the team could recover. He urged players to show humility, work hard and make sacrifices, arguing that representing United carried responsibilities and that past success did not guarantee future wins. Carrick said the club’s resilience and its commitment to those values should guide the response. United entered the press conference on a seven-game winless run in all competitions, according to reports, after the loss to Como. The defeat also prompted public criticism of Carrick’s tactics from captain Bruno...