Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee displays will give Carrick nightmares | OneFootball

Manchester United escaped from the Stadium of Light with a fortunate point after a 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Saturday.

It was a poor performance from a heavily rotated side, but a point on the road against a spirited Black Cats will go down as a decent result in the end.

This was the Red Devils’ first stalemate of the season, and they had Senne Lammens to thank for keeping the scores level at the end of the 90 minutes.

The Belgian pulled off multiple great saves as the hosts swarmed all over the visitors, with the midfield being cut open time and again.

Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee were handed a rare opportunity to impress

Michael Carrick made five changes as he looked to give minutes to fringe players, including handing rare starts to Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee.

Both looked slow and off the pace and were lucky not to get hooked at half-time.

With the Red Devils expected to strengthen all over the pitch in the summer, plenty of player sales will be expected.

And INEOS need to be ruthless and both the Englishman and Dutchman demonstrated they are simply not good enough to make the grade at United.

They failed to make it count

The former Chelsea ace’s injury record is nothing to write home about, and he was wasted in midfield, where Carrick decided to play him on Saturday with Casemiro earning a breather.

The United No.7 is far more effective as an attacking midfielder, a position currently occupied by Bruno Fernandes, who is unlikely to relinquish his spot any time soon.

As for Zirkzee, his distinct lack of pace has always been an eyesore, and he lacked sharpness, probably as a result of his lack of minutes.

Time for INEOS to sell Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee

But a lack of effort cannot be excused, and that is exactly what the Netherlands international offered. Despite being a big physical presence, he rarely won any duels.

The ex-Bologna ace would like to stay, but an amicable exit looks like the best solution for both parties.

With Champions League qualification secured, and third-place finish looking likely, United probably will not fret too much over today’s result.

However, it served as a wake-up call for the co-owners and Carrick regarding the players they cannot trust moving forward.

Feature image George Wood via Getty Images

online polls

The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social