Michael Carrick has confirmed he substituted Marcus Rashford in the game against Everton as a precaution to avoid injury.
The winger was arguably the best Manchester United player on the pitch but was taken off for Patrick Dorgu in the 70th minute.
“He felt a little bit of something, so we had to change him,” Carrick said. “We had good connections pretty much all over the pitch at different times of the game, and Marcus and Luke Shaw have played together for a long period of time and have a good understanding.
“And you can see that, they look really dangerous down that side, and there is obviously more to come.’
United were denied a first away win of the season after Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored in the sixth minute of added time to secure Everton a 2-2 draw at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Carrick’s side had twice been ahead and looked set to leave Merseyside with three points when Benjamin Sesko put United in front for the second time in the 88th minute.
Maitland-Niles, making his Everton debut, responded with a superb strike from outside the area to rescue a point. Carrick admitted the late goal was tough to take.
“We’re bitterly disappointed,” the United manager said. “To be up in the position we were in in the game twice so close to the end and all the work that went into putting us in that position at different stages, to come away like that is not a great feeling.
“It feels like a defeat which is the obvious thing to say at this stage. We have taken a point, we can’t ignore that but it feels like we should have had a lot more.”
The boss is already looking ahead to Thursday’s Champions League encounter 👊 pic.twitter.com/33y6NbI2KP
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The draw leaves United 11th with four points from their opening three league matches. They have conceded six goals and are still without a clean sheet, having also lost 2-0 at Hull City before beating Ipswich Town 5-2.
Carrick, however, rejected the suggestion that United’s start has been poor. He pointed instead to the chances created and the periods in which his team controlled the match.
“We haven’t started the season that bad, to be honest,” he said. “It’s not that bad. We were that close to coming away with three points today. That’s football. There are little moments we could deal with better but we’ll be fine.”
United had looked capable of holding on after Sesko’s late goal, but Everton remained a threat around the edge of the area. Carrick felt his team had defended well for much of the match but failed to close it out.
“For the most part, I thought we defended really well as a team,” he said. “A few more balls went into the box, making it a little bit more difficult for us when we should have seen the end of the game.”
The United manager praised Rashford’s overall play. “He’s done very well,” Carrick said. “As I said during the week, he’s done really well since he came back. He looked really sharp today and dangerous.
“That final moment didn’t quite drop for him but nevertheless he created really good opportunities and gave us a big threat throughout the game.”
Carrick accepted that Everton’s two goals were high-quality finishes rather than the result of sustained pressure.
“They were two great strikes to be fair,” he said. “We didn’t give them clear chances. I thought we defended really well; a few bits dropped around the edge of the box, a few shots which we got blocks to.”
