The first decision that left me confused was taking Kobbie Mainoo off. Mainoo was still offering energy and composure in midfield, and I honestly did not feel he was the player United needed to sacrifice at that stage of the game.
But once Carrick decided to make the change, I expected Mason Mount to be the obvious replacement.
Mount had shown during pre-season that he could bring exactly what United needed in a difficult midfield battle: intensity, aggression, pressing and the willingness to constantly run for the team. When a match starts losing its rhythm, you need players capable of raising the tempo and forcing the opposition into uncomfortable situations.
Instead, Carrick turned to Carlos Santos.
To be clear, this is not an attack on Santos. He came on and did a decent job. The problem was more about the overall balance of the midfield and which player should have been sacrificed.
For me, if Carrick wanted to introduce Mount, Youri Tielemans would have been the player I would have considered taking off.
Tielemans offers quality and control, but the game was crying out for more intensity. United needed someone willing to press aggressively, cover ground, win second balls and inject some urgency into the midfield.
That is where Mount could have made a difference.
The frustrating thing is that United were in a position where the game was there to be won. They had taken the lead twice, yet the final stages became increasingly uncomfortable before Everton eventually found a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time.
Carrick deserves credit for the progress he has made with the team, but managers are judged heavily on their decisions during moments like this.
And today, I simply don’t think he got the changes right.
Mainoo coming off was questionable.
Mount staying on the bench was even more questionable.
And choosing Santos instead of making a more aggressive midfield adjustment left many supporters wondering what might have happened if Carrick had reacted differently.
Football is often decided by fine margins.
Today, those margins were the substitutions.
For me, Carrick got the changes wrong, and United paid the price.
SOMA