Michael Carrick admitted that a bad run was “always going to come” in his Manchester United tenure.

The Red Devils’ winless run was extended to four matches after a 1-1 draw at Fulham, where they were lucky to escape with a point after Matheus Cunha’s late and deflected equaliser.

Lisandro Martinez’s own goal had set them on their way to what looked to be a dismal defeat in west London, where Alvaro Arbeloa was hoping to secure his first Premier League win as the Cottagers’ boss.

However, he saw his dreams dashed in the dying embers as Cunha’s effort ricocheted fortuitously off David Affengruber to hand United an undeserved share of the spoils.

It leaves them 12th in the table, and follows a premature Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Brighton and a controversial Manchester derby defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

Gary Neville, the former United defender, lambasted his old club, accusing them of playing the “worst 15 minutes I have ever seen” in an “absolutely pathetic” display.

Carrick, however, wanted to focus on the positives of his side’s performance, which improved marginally in the second period, and even more so after they fell behind.

“[A bad run] was always going to come at some point,” he admitted post-match.

“(The 2-2 draw) at Everton, a 25-yard shot finds the top corner, with City, that’s not a goal. Today, an own goal is one of those things. It’s pretty fine margins that have flipped it as well. I know we can do better. We need to do better. At the same time, I’m not disappointed with that, we showed some good signs.”

“The way we finished the game, it didn’t look like [we had been outrun],” he continued.

“I thought we finished really strong and kept pushing.”

Going into the three-week international break, United remain mired in mid-table. Their next outing will come next month, when they host struggling Tottenham at Old Trafford on October 10.