Manchester United lost 2-0 to Atlético Madrid away in a Champions League group stage match. After the game, United manager Michael Carrick attended a press conference and was repeatedly asked about Lisandro Martinez's comments criticizing the club's transfer spending. Carrick emphasized that he hadn't seen the interview and couldn't comment, but he remained confident in the team's unity and winning mentality.

Reporter: The team adjusted well after conceding, trying to regain control, but the red card that followed made things extremely difficult.

Carrick: Yes, I have to say, I completely don't think that was a red card. I really can't agree with that decision. I don't know what I'm allowed to say publicly, but I completely disagree with it. I don't think the opposing attacker was running directly at goal at high speed; whether it was even a foul is debatable. The contact was very minimal, the movement was slow, and issuing a direct red card for such an incident, especially after consulting VAR, I simply cannot understand it.

We had a poor start, which put us in a difficult position in an extremely challenging away match. Atlético Madrid is not an easy opponent; they reached the Champions League semi-final last season, progressing deep into the competition. We knew it would be very difficult. After going behind early, I thought the team's reaction was excellent, gradually finding our rhythm. You could see that some of the best chances of the entire match actually belonged to us.

To be honest, we had four clear one-on-one opportunities: Bryan Mbeumo had two; Marcus Rashford had a volley that he didn't connect with properly; and Bruno Fernandes had a chip over the goalkeeper. If we had converted those chances, the situation would have been completely different.

During the match, we could certainly do better in some aspects, but I think the overall match remained balanced, and we were always in it in the second half. There's no doubt that red card had a decisive impact on the match.

Reporter: Speaking of missed chances, what do you think is the main reason at this stage? Do you think some of your attacking players lack confidence? Because, as you said, you created chances to equalize or even go ahead.

Carrick: No, I don't think it's a confidence issue. Players are human, and they will miss chances; that's normal. Bryan has scored; he scored just a few days ago, so these things happen in football. The lads have high individual ability; this isn't an issue with any player. The fact is we created those chances today; we just couldn't convert them into goals. I believe that as long as we keep creating chances, the goals will come naturally. We have to keep doing the right things.

Sometimes that's how it goes: when we create good chances but don't get rewarded, we need to ensure our defense is more solid at crucial moments. But honestly, after conceding that first goal, I thought we did many very good things in such a difficult away match.

Reporter: Hi Michael. I'm not sure if you've had a chance to see what Lisandro just said in his interview, where he stated that he felt the club didn't support him enough during the summer transfer window, that the squad lacks investment in new players, and that the remaining players didn't receive the backing they deserved, saying frankly that this squad simply isn't competitive enough. Do you agree with his view on transfer investment? Do you feel disappointed this summer and didn't receive the support you expected?

Read more: [Lisandro Martinez: It's easy to blame the manager when you lose, but I expected more from the board this summer]

Carrick: I haven't seen that interview. I only heard snippets from a few comments in other interviews just now. I think after a match like this, where everyone comes with high expectations but leaves empty-handed, emotions can run high. For me, right after the match isn't the right time to comment on that interview because I haven't seen it myself, so I can't really give an opinion.

But for us, the most important thing right now is to move forward quickly. There's an important match on Sunday, and we need to focus all our attention on that. Everyone in the squad is very disappointed, I'm extremely disappointed about many things, and the lads are generally very disappointed.

Reporter: Michael, I know you don't want to go too deep into this, but from a positive angle, the fact that Lisandro publicly said "responsibility shouldn't always fall on the manager alone" – could that actually be significant support for you? Do you feel relieved by that?

Carrick: As a team, I never doubt the unity of the whole squad, their hunger to win, or their willingness to give everything to achieve victory. I have complete faith in that. I know that from a results perspective, because we haven't won enough matches recently, outsiders might think there are deeper issues within the team, and I completely understand that feeling. But I have to say, the players' attitude is perfect. It's not about how nice the football looks, but their constant drive to win. Everyone is very disappointed because we couldn't get points away from home tonight because we want to win and we know we had opportunities to do so.

Reporter: Sorry, one more question related to Lisandro's comments. It's quite rare, perhaps unprecedented, for Lisandro to make such strong comments after a match. Will you speak with him privately? How do you plan to address this situation? The views he expressed are clearly quite critical of the club's board.

Carrick: To be honest, before deciding whether and how to address it, I need to understand the full details. I haven't seen the original interview myself, so I really can't comment further at this moment.

Spanish Reporter: Mr. Carrick, good evening. Given what happened in the opening minutes, with defensive disorganization leading to an early goal, how did you adjust tactically in the first half and how did the players respond in such an important match? Thank you very much.

Carrick: I think the team's reaction after conceding early was really very good. At certain stages of the match, we controlled most of the possession. Atlético Madrid is a strong team, and we knew beforehand that it would be very difficult. But as I said, we created many excellent opportunities, and creating four clear one-on-one chances against Atlético Madrid here is probably more than most teams could create. Atlético's overall defense is very difficult to break down, so converting chances was crucial for us, but unfortunately, we weren't able to do it. This is certainly not an issue of motivation or morale; there's no problem with how we motivated the team in the first half.

I think the second half was very intense, and the lads showed some excellent combinations, and although we did expose some gaps that need improvement tactically later on, the team's hunger to win and fighting spirit are completely fine.

Reporter: Michael, following up on Martinez's interview, does this sense of adversity, this feeling of "everyone is against us," actually bring people closer together? You said yesterday that the whole team must stick together through difficult times. The team has gone five matches without a win, but there seems to be a strong unity; is that accurate?

Carrick: Yes, that's completely true. The lads are hurting; they're full of fighting spirit, eager to play well, and the current losses have affected them deeply. They've worked hard to do the right things, trained diligently, been willing to listen, and eager to improve, wanting to come back in the next match and move forward again. Everyone remains positive about the team's future potential.

If you look at it objectively, over a long season, matches like tonight can happen. This is an extremely difficult away match against a top European team that reached the Champions League semi-final last season. Despite the setback of conceding early, I think there was a lot of positive content demonstrated in the match that deserves credit. We need to build on these positives.

Of course, we also need to learn from the mistakes that made the match more difficult. But we are fully capable of getting victories and will ultimately return to winning ways. Sunday's match is a great opportunity for us to prepare, anticipate, and reignite the fighting spirit in everyone to pull together in one direction, and the lads are clearly ready for that.

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