Ralf Rangnick had no input on Manchester United’s selection and tactics in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League, says caretaker manager Michael Carrick.
The visitors took the lead through Jadon Sancho despite mustering only three shots throughout the entire match in west London, and stubbornly held on for a point after a Jorginho penalty had pulled Chelsea level.
Rangnick – a noted mentor of Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel – is widely expected to be appointed as the full-time interim successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but Carrick was quick to shoot down suggestions that the German had any input on his own approach over the weekend.
“It is not the case, no,” the former United midfielder told BBC Sport when asked if his likely replacement influenced his decisions throughout the match. “[I’m] slightly disappointed to be honest. We went ahead, we came here to win. To go 1-0 up and have it taken away from you is disappointing.
“That intent and that hunger summed us up today. We knew it wasn’t going to be free-flowing football at times but we were prepared to dig in. [Sancho] managed to score and I am pleased for him. It has been a decent couple of games.”
Carrick added that the point was bittersweet given that he would have rather been in the dugout alongside former boss and friend Solskjaer, adding: “It is mixed feelings because I shouldn’t be here if things had gone as we wanted. I felt like we lost out on it today because two wins would have been better.”
