Michael Carrick arranges secret friendly for struggling Man Utd against fellow INEOS-owned club in bid to save stumbling season

Manchester United will take on Lausanne-Sport in a secret friendly during the current international break, according to The Telegraph. The fixture allows manager Carrick to test new strategies away from the public eye as his squad regroups from a dismal start to the 2026-27 campaign. Exact details regarding the date and venue for the match remain undisclosed.

Lausanne, another club operating under Ratcliffe’s INEOS umbrella, are enduring an equally torrid season. The Swiss outfit currently sit bottom of their domestic league after suffering five defeats in their opening nine matches.

The scheduled friendly highlights a wider crisis across Ratcliffe's multi-club network, with nearly all INEOS-backed teams struggling for form. Alongside United and Lausanne, French side Nice are languishing in 14th place in Ligue 1, hovering just above the relegation zone. Meanwhile, United's women's team, managed by Eva Olid, have dropped to ninth in the Women's Super League after a sluggish start.

For Carrick's men, the current campaign equals their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, mirroring the early struggles under Ruben Amorim last term and Sir Alex Ferguson in 1992-93. The Red Devils have secured just one league victory so far and sit 12th in the table.

United's domestic woes were compounded by a disastrous League Cup exit against Brighton, where they surrendered a two-goal advantage at Old Trafford. They have also suffered a shock defeat to Hull City and a frustrating Manchester derby loss, where they failed to overcome a 10-man City side following a controversial goal.

The decision to arrange extra minutes follows United's recent draw at Fulham, a result that left them stranded in the bottom half of the table. Following the stalemate at Craven Cottage, goalscorer Matheus Cunha suggested that Fulham had shown more energy after the half-time interval.

However, Carrick firmly rejected any suggestions that his squad is suffering from a lack of fitness. The United boss insisted he was satisfied with his team's physical output in the closing stages.

"It didn't look like that to me," Carrick told reporters when asked about Cunha's assessment. "I was quite happy with the way we finished the game. I thought we finished the game really strongly actually and we kept pushing. So I don't think that's an issue, no."

Carrick must find solutions quickly, with mounting pressure to deliver results as soon as domestic football returns. United welcome fellow Premier League strugglers Tottenham to Old Trafford on October 10 to kick off a demanding and potentially season-defining run of fixtures.

The Red Devils face a punishing October schedule across multiple competitions. Following the Spurs clash, United must navigate crucial fixtures against Atletico Madrid, Leeds United, Como, Bournemouth, and Chelsea before the end of the month.