Man United comeback will dishearten our rivals, says Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick believes Manchester United’s stunning comeback against Chelsea could leave a dent in Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge.

United came from three goals down in the second half to mount a remarkable comeback as Wayne Rooney’s two penalties and Javier Hernández’s header sealed a point for the defending champions.

And Carrick believes that the never-say-die attitude shown by United in west London on Sunday will worry Roberto Mancini’s league leaders.

“We are still there but it’s a run of tough games for us at the moment,” Carrick told United’s website. “I think other teams who were watching that and seeing us go 3-0 down, they would have been thinking what a good afternoon it has been for them. Then for us to come back in the manner we did might give them a little dent and a boost for us.”

Despite the Red Devils avoiding a humiliating defeat and rescuing a point, Carrick revealed that United were disappointed not to snatch an unlikely victory and stay level with rivals Manchester City at the top of the league.

But the 30-year-old midfielder hailed to United’s determination to come from three goals behind and restore parity in a dramatic game at Stamford Bridge.

“We were slightly disappointed in the end,” Carrick added. “Obviously, when you’re 3-0 down and have your backs against the wall, if someone offers you a point then you’ll be happy with that but getting a third goal with a fair bit of the game to go, we fancied ourselves to go on and win it.

“We probably looked like the likelier team to do it. They had a good free-kick but it’s a strange feeling in many ways, it was an up and down afternoon and in the end, a point is a point and we can take an awful lot from that game.

“We played well in the first half and created some opportunities. Even when we were 1-0 down at half time we were a bit stunned and surprised but that’s how it was and we had to deal with it.

“It’s a credit to the boys, we kept going, kept pushing and kept believing that we could get something out of the game and in the end we have. There’s a lot of positivity but there’s still that little tinge of maybe we could have won it. Maybe that is a bit greedy after being 3-0 down.”