Manchester United showed stubbornness: Michael Carrick hails Ipswich comeback

Manchester United responded to their opening-weekend defeat with a 5-2 comeback win over Ipswich. Michael Carrick praised the grit shown by his players, while Bruno Fernandes led the way with a decisive hat-trick at Old Trafford.Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick in United’s 5-2 comeback win vs Ipswich. (Photo: Reuters)Manchester United manager Michael Carrick praised his side’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, raising memories of their disappointing 2-0 defeat at Hull. Speaking after the match, Carrick highlighted the way his players responded to going behind and backed that character to become an important part of United’s progress.“You’ve got to deal with the setback. We spoke before about trying to overcome last week, and then we took a mini setback, going a goal behind.”“Showing stubbornness, belief, confidence, and togetherness the boys showed at that stage was really pleasing for me. The way they bounced back, that’s probably the biggest thing to take.” Fernandes eventually dragged United level in the 40th minute with a powerful finish at the end of a counter-attack. The captain then converted a penalty in the second half before completing his hat-trick, putting United firmly in control.BRUNO LEADS UNITED'S RESPONSECarrick was full of praise for Fernandes, who has captained United since January 2020 and had recently collected both 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 now,” Carrick said. “Times like today, when you’re looking towards certain players to give us that little bit of something, and he did that particularly well.”The Portuguese midfielder’s third goal came seven minutes after his penalty and gave United a three-goal cushion. Bryan Mbeumo later added a fifth after racing onto Fernandes’ pass and lifting the ball over the Ipswich goalkeeper.The result also saw United score five Premier League goals for the first time since their 5-1 victory over Leeds on the opening day of the 2021-22 season, when Fernandes also scored a hat-trick.UNITED FIND MOMENTUM AFTER TOUGH STARTCarrick also welcomed 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 immense in the middle of the pitch for us and underpinned the performance of the team,” Carrick said.United produced 33 shots during the match, 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 match on September 6 before beginning their Champions League campaign at home to Sabah FK on September 10. The European schedule then brings a trip to face Atletico Madrid in October, giving Carrick’s side an early test across both domestic and continental competition.- EndsPublished By: Debodinna ChakrabortyPublished On: Aug 31, 2026 08:24 IST