“We need to keep building”, says Carrick ahead of Manchester United’s clash against Chelsea

“We need to keep building”, says Carrick ahead of Manchester United’s clash against Chelsea

The Red Devils suffered their first home defeat under Carrick on Monday, falling to Leeds United 2–1 after Lisandro Martínez was sent off.

Despite the setback, United remain third in the table, level on 55 points with fourth-placed Aston Villa.

With five games remaining, the race for a Champions League spot is still in their own hands should they secure victory over Chelsea.

Carrick said: “It’s an important game. We are in a good position but we need to keep building on that.

“It is a tough place to go and we always have tough games down there, but we will be ready for that and we take confidence from what we built.

“We didn’t get the result we wanted against Leeds, but the way we finished the game and the character we showed – we need to take that into this game.”

Carrick will be without Lisandro Martinez after he was sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair on Monday night.

“We are disappointed. We didn’t agree with it. It was pretty obvious how I felt about it after the game and I still feel that way.

“It is what it is; we’ve been hit with some decisions but we have to accept it and move on.”

Martinez joins Harry Maguire on the sideline, who was shown red for improper conduct against last month, which also left Carrick frustrated.