Under pressure Man U manager Carrick determined to fight on

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Manchester United did it again.

Two goals down inside the opening four minutes against Aston Villa in the Premier League yesterday and trailing 4-2 going into second-half added time, United rallied to a 4-4 draw on another night of mayhem and drama at Old Trafford.

Substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu sparked a party inside the iconic stadium with their late rescue act after fans had been in mutinous mood, staging more protests against the club’s owners.

Whether it has sufficiently eased the pressure on coach Michael Carrick after the comeback win against Roma in the Champions League midweek remains to be seen.

The 20-time English champions still go into the international break 18th in the standings and in the relegation zone with just one win from 10 games. United’s winless run in the league was extended to eight.

“I don’t like the situation where we are, I don’t like the results that we’ve had, but we can definitely do something about it,” Carrick told Sky Sports.

DETERMINED TO FIGHT ON

Even after another rousing fightback, Carrick’s position remains uncertain, with United still searching for a first league win since August 30.

Afterwards he defiantly insisted he would not walk away despite such a troubled campaign, which was already the club’s worst start since the 1986-87 season.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said. “We understand the situation. We haven’t won enough games, but I expect to move forward and keep working on the things that we’ve been working on and showing a lot of good in the game today, tighten up on a few mistakes and win football matches.”

After going 2-0 down against Roma inside 17 minutes on Tuesday, United conceded twice in the first four against Villa, with Alysson and Nicolas Jackson on target.

Once again there was a response — Bruno Fernandes scoring from the penalty spot and Youri Tielemans levelling before the break.

Villa soon reasserted their dominance in the second half, with John McGinn converting a penalty and Leon Goretska adding a fourth.

United looked to be headed for their fifth league defeat until Zirkzee converted inside the box and Dorgu headed in from a corner in the sixth minute of added time.

“I don’t feel happy. We are in a bad situation and we need to fight together to get out of it,” Dorgu said. “Everyone needs to look at themselves and ask themselves if they are good enough. We need to fight for the coach and the club. We need to get out of this together.”

INTERNATIONAL BREAK

Television cameras repeatedly focused on United chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox as United looked to be on the verge of another defeat.

They will be under scrutiny during the two-week international break, which has often been a time when clubs make coaching changes.

United’s hierarchy opted to give the popular Carrick — a serial title-winner as a player with United — the chance to repair the damage of a ruinous start.

Even after salvaging a late draw, there is still likely to be speculation about his position before United next plays against fierce rivals Liverpool on November 22.

BRIGHTON GO SECOND

High flying Brighton moved up second in the Premier League with a 2-0 win against Brentford.

Liverpool are back to winning ways, beating Crystal Palace 3-1, while Chelsea fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat to relegation-fighting Sunderland.