The former Manchester United midfielder believes a decision against his team could affect the promotion race.
Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick believes that the decision not to deem Wilfried Gnonto’s goal for Leeds United against his team on Monday night will have a significant impact on Leicester City and Ipswich Town.
Boro and Leeds played a high-intensity, high-scoring contest at the Riverside Stadium, with Daniel Farke’s squad winning 4-3.
Two goals from Emmanuel Latte Lath and an early finish from Isaiah Jones were insufficient to fend off Leeds’ ferocious onslaught, which scored three combined goals from its wingers and one from former Boro attacker Patrick Bamford.
Middlesbrough’s goals, Bamford’s tap-in, and Crysencio Summerville’s brace were all fine, but the Whites’ third goal of the night was a problem.
Wilfried Gnonto was sent in behind the home team’s defense by his Dutch rival, who calmly completed his chance past Seny Dieng. Veteran Matthew Clarke raised his hand to the assistant referee on the near side, requesting that the flag be raised for offside, but nothing was provided.
Clarke appeared to have been correct in his objections, as replays from Sky Sports revealed that the Italian winger may have gone offside.
Boro’s manager has expressed his displeasure with the decision, stating that it may have an impact on the top-of-the-table clash.
Michael Carrick reacts to Wilfried Gnonto’s goal.
The former Manchester United midfielder stated that the decision to award Leeds’ third goal rather than rule it out was extremely terrible.
“The offside goal is a massive, massive decision, not just for us, but I’m sure there’s two other teams that have been affected by it too, in the bigger picture,” said Carrick in an interview with the Northern Echo.
The Whites have risen above Ipswich in the table, and a win over Queens Park Rangers on Friday would increase their lead over the Tractor Boys to four points.
Carrick went on to say, “We urged the boys to defend well and hold the line together, and the line is just excellent. There are three of them on the edge of the box, holding the line, and you expect the offside to be awarded. It was too obvious not to be.”
This was not the only source of annoyance for the 42-year-old. Despite many replacement windows, two goals, and a handful of yellow cards, the game was only extended by five minutes at the end.
Regarding the increased time issues, the Boro boss stated, “To be honest, I became really upset with the added time. The board goes up for five minutes, and then we receive an additional 18 seconds. However, the ball was out of play for 90 seconds or two minutes during the five minutes that were being added.
“I become frustrated. Yes, there is extra time, but there should also be extra time on top of that. That made me a little frustrated.”
What Michael Carrick should do to make Middlesbrough challenging
Boro demonstrated yesterday night, like they have for much of the season, that they have a lively attacking style that can cause difficulties for opposition. That is not to suggest that there isn’t room for improvement in the forward line – they don’t have a better offensive record than any of the clubs now in the play-offs or above – but it isn’t a significant problem.
Middlesbrough suffers a significant defensive disadvantage in compared to their opponents. They have allowed 60 goals in 44 games. Only Norwich City, Preston North End, and Cardiff City have conceded more in the top half of the table (61).
If they can shut up shop at the back more often than they have this season, they should be able to move up the league.
