Michael Carrick had seen it in his players, he said, but no one else can. Not so far this season, where they have suffered their worst start in 40 years, and not here in Madrid where Manchester United’s manager insisted that they would embrace the challenge. The reaction was coming, he said; he was sure of it. Instead, they were a goal down after just 53 seconds and another defeat did. That early opener from Pablo Barrios and a second from Ademola Lookman late on meant a 2-0 defeat.
So much for a reaction, a rebellion: instead, there was a kind of resignation, a sense that this is just their reality: a game that began badly, barely got better, and finished even worse. Even the late red card for Leny Yoro at 1-0 which can be offered up in mitigation may not be really; this isn’t what United are supposed to be.
