Manchester United manager Michael Carrick stated there were “no excuses” following his team’s 4-2 loss to AC Milan in Wroclaw.
The Red Devils took the lead on two occasions against the Serie A team, now managed by former United head coach Ruben Amorim.
This defeat marked just their second loss in six preseason matches, which featured a victory over Atletico Madrid and a 1-1 draw with European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
“Overall, [the preseason] has been quite positive, and I believe there are many positives to take away,” Carrick shared in a post-match interview with MUTV.
“We’re disappointed with our performance today. We didn’t play well. There are reasons for that, and we need to learn and improve, especially for some players making their first appearance,” he noted.
“There are various factors at play — no excuses; we just did not perform well today,” he added.
Harry Maguire opened the scoring for United just over two minutes into the match, but Samuel Chukwueze equalized for Milan shortly after.
Carrick’s squad regained their lead in the second half thanks to Patrick Dorgu, only for Alphadjo Cissè, Gonçalo Ramos, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to score in quick succession and secure victory for Milan.
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Marcus Rashford made his first appearance for United since December 2024 when he came on in the 60th minute, following a return from his loan spell at Barcelona, as part of six substitutions made during the match.
“Many players will benefit from the minutes played today,” Carrick commented.
“We have a strong squad, so decisions will need to be made moving forward.”
United will kick off their Premier League campaign on August 22 with a match against newly-promoted Hull.