- Oct 16, 2026
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SportsMafia Wire graphic. Team logos and player headshots via ESPN.
Manchester United remained winless in any competition since Sept. 10 after a 1-1 draw at Leeds United, leaving the club with its worst Premier League start since 1986.
Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring in the 35th minute for the hosts. Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled six minutes into the second half, denying manager Michael Carrick relief from mounting pressure. Carrick, 45, deployed a three-man defence of Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba behind Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans.
The result leaves United with one league win all season and seven points from seven matches, 14 points adrift of leaders Manchester City. The club also crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle for a second straight year. Their only victories came against promoted Ipswich and FK Sabah, the latter a 4-0 Champions League result on Sept. 10.
Carrick, who received a two-year contract in May, acknowledged the predicament. "We have to find a way through it," he said.
United next face Como in the Champions League on Wednesday before hosting Bournemouth at Old Trafford next Sunday. Available managers reportedly include Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Kieran McKenna. The 1986 parallel saw a manager dismissed in early November with 13 points from 13 games, paving the way for Alex Ferguson's appointment.
Source: ESPN - Sun Oct 18, 12:12 PM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).