Michael Carrick rages at 'one of the worst decisions I've ever seen' as 10-man Man Utd suffer home defeat to Leeds

Leeds secured their first league victory at Old Trafford since 1981, dealing Carrick his first home defeat as United manager. The visitors took control early with a brace from Noah Okafor, capitalising on the sluggish first-half performance of the hosts. Although Casemiro pulled one back following a Lisandro Martinez red card, United could not find a late equaliser as their 18-game unbeaten home run against their rivals ended.

The United boss focused his post-match frustrations on two pivotal moments, starting with an unpunished forearm challenge on Leny Yoro in the build-up to Leeds' opener. However, his sharpest criticism was reserved for the decision to dismiss Martinez for a hair-pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin following a VAR review.

Speaking to Sky Sports about the officiating consistency and the red card incident, Carrick said: "We didn't start the game particularly well. We obviously conceded when Leny Yoro gets a forearm smash in the back of the head and they score the first goal.

"They didn't decide to overturn that decision. That was a big moment in the game. We didn't quite have the rhythm, we didn't click, we had some moments but it wasn't quite there for large parts of the first half.

"But second half, I thought the boys the way they went about it, stayed positive and fought to get something out of it after another shocking, shocking decision to send [Lisandro Martinez] off. Two games in a row we've had decisions like that go against us but that one was one of the worst I've seen."

The dismissal of Martinez proved to be the flashpoint of the evening, especially as the Argentine was making his return following a two-month injury lay-off. Carrick argued that the contact was accidental and lacked the aggression required for a straight red card, particularly after a VAR intervention.

Expanding on his disbelief regarding the specific mechanics of the incident, Carrick added: "You can elbow Leny Yoro for the first goal, leaning arm obviously, you can throw your arm in Martinez's face and then as he's off balance because of that, he's half grappling, he half touches the back of his hair which pulls the bobble to come out.

"I don't even know what it looks like. It's not a pull, it's not a tug, it's not aggressive. He touches it and he gets send off. Worse of all, he gets sent to overturn it, a clear and obvious error. Shocking."

The Red Devils must now prepare for a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday without the suspended Martinez. Carrick’s side currently sit third in the Premier League on 55 points, seven ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea, who suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. With the Premier League set to receive five Champions League places via the European Performance Spot, United need immediate defensive solutions to secure their position with only six games remaining.