Six without a win and United's defence is still the hole

Six without a win, and the shape is not the problem\n\nLeeds United 1–1 Manchester United. Bryan Mbeumo scored, Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised, and United's run without a win stretched to six games in all competitions, the first time that has happened since 2019 [(10)](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ckvg7v43x1xyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) [(25)](https://www.101greatgoals.com/match-reports/leeds-1-1-manchester-united-calvert-lewin-scores-again-to-claim-point-for-leeds). Seven points from seven league games. Carrick switched formation at Elland Road and got a more coherent performance for it [(9)](https://www.skysports.com/football/leeds-united-vs-manchester-united/report/559509). It bought him nothing on the scoresheet.\n\n## The defence has been the story all season\n\nUnited have conceded in all seven of their league games. They have now gone without a clean sheet in their first six league matches in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1930/31 and 1931/32 [(2)](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/50210339/pressure-piles-michael-carrick-man-united-draw-leeds). The Calvert-Lewin equaliser was the familiar soft moment, a back line that loses its bearings once per half [(13)](https://thepeoplesperson.com/2026/10/18/four-things-we-learned-as-soft-defensive-moment-denies-man-united-crucial-elland-road-win-319563). No system fixes that. Carrick can change the midfield shape every week and the goals will keep arriving from the same places, because the problem is in who defends and how they communicate, not where they stand. Gary Neville's read after the game was that the performance level has been better than the results [(1)](https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/artiklar/premier-league/manchester-united-leeds-premier-league). True. Also irrelevant. A coach is judged on points and United have one win in the league since August [(17)](https://www.tv2.no/a/19334520).\n\n## Fernandes is now the question, not the answer\n\nBruno Fernandes started at Leeds and was poor, his passing loose and his influence on the game near zero [(10)](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ckvg7v43x1xyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) [(16)](https://sapo.pt/artigo/man-united-empata-na-casa-de-rival-e-intensifica-crise-6ad4dfc067f99269c8b8010a). On Sunday morning the reports arrived: Barcelona are monitoring him and Galatasaray have asked about a January move [(27)](https://fotbolltransfers.com/nyheter/uppgifter-barcelona-foljer-bruno-fernandes/223037). He is 32, he is the captain, and the club he leads sits 14th with six points from six games played [(31)](https://www.record.pt/internacional/paises/inglaterra/detalhe/20261018-122520-leeds-manchester-united-em-direto). If United's one organising force is quietly weighing up an exit, the project loses the only fixed point it has.\n\n## The women's team is the only thing working\n\nCharlton Athletic 1–3 Manchester United Women, with Ella Toone's long-range strike setting the tone [(29)](https://thebusbybabe.sbnation.com/manchester-united-women/36164/manchester-united-3-1-charlton-ella-toone-belter-sets-the-tone-for-road-win). That is five straight wins for Eva Olid's side [(29)](https://thebusbybabe.sbnation.com/manchester-united-women/36164/manchester-united-3-1-charlton-ella-toone-belter-sets-the-tone-for-road-win) [(4)](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/50190864/premier-league-live-updates-leeds-united-manchester-united-nottingham-forest-arsenal). Different squad, different budget, different weight of expectation. Same badge, and the only part of the club currently living up to what it says about itself.\n\n## What to watch\n\nComo away in the Champions League on Wednesday at 18:45, then Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday, and Bournemouth arrive off a 2–0 win at Sunderland in which Evanilson scored [(21)](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/man-united-draws-1-1-151520742.html) [(23)](https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/kwakkelend-man-utd-komt-niet-langs-rivaal-sunderland-mist-geblesseerde-brobbey). Two results, one of them away in Europe, will decide whether Carrick gets to the November international break with any room at all. For comparison: Brighton put five past Crystal Palace, Diego Gomez scored from the halfway line, and they sit second [(5)](https://tribalfootball.com/article/manchester-united-and-leeds-share-spoils-in-premier-league-roses-derby-8da6cf0f-0f94–4a73–89b4-d6949e7333cd) [(32)](https://www.nu.nl/voetbal/6413570/brighton-voorlopig-tweede-na-goal-van-middenlijn-united-wint-weer-niet.html). That is the standard United were built to reach. It is October and they are eight places below it.