Why Michael Carrick should be concerned despite Man United’s thrilling comeback win over Ipswich as Bruno Fernandes comes to the rescue again, writes CHRIS WHEELER

For ten minutes before half-time at Old Trafford, Manchester United were facing the unthinkable scenario of losing their opening two games of the season to newly-promoted Hull City and Ipswich Town.

The visitors from East Anglia led through Leif Davis and were threatening to plunge Michael Carrick and his team into crisis before August is done and the transfer window has closed by winning here for the first time since 1984.

There were several factors that changed the course of this game. There is no doubt that good fortune played a part, most crucially in the slip by Marcelino Nunez that led to United’s equaliser and the bizarre decision that allowed Harry Maguire to get away with handball in the build-up to the second goal.

United started brightly and certainly moved up a gear in the second half, with Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo rewarding Carrick’s decision to start them.

But not for the first time, it was captain Bruno Fernandes who rescued his team with a standout performance that ended with him claiming a hat-trick and another assist.

The scoreline certainly felt a little harsh on Ipswich given how they competed in the first half, but Gary O’Neil’s men were simply swept away after half-time by an irrepressible United side who could have scored several more in a match that ended in a deluge of rain and thunder and lightning.

Harry Maguire was allowed to get away with a handball in the build-up to the second goal

The scoreline certainly felt a little harsh on Ipswich given how they competed in the first half, but Gary O’Neil’s men were simply swept away after half-time

The storm clouds would certainly have been gathering if they had lost this one but Carrick will be delighted with the way his team responded to adversity even though there is still plenty of room for improvement.

He made four changes to the team that suffered a shock opening-day defeat to Hull City last weekend. Rashford made his first start for United for 626 days, replacing Patrick Dorgu on the left, and Mainoo, Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot were recalled in place of summer signing Andrey Santos, Ayden Heaven and Noussair Mazraoui.

‘Of course, we were really frustrated with the result against Hull City,’ Carrick wrote in his programme notes. ‘We have taken the lessons from the game, had a strong week in training and now it’s all about focusing on today’s challenge. There is a great spirit within our squad, with the new signings adding further strength and depth to the group as we continue to make progress towards our long-term ambitions.’

New £70million signing Carlos Baleba was paraded on the pitch before kick-off but might not make his debut until mid-October due to an ankle injury. The Cameroon international’s arrival has pushed United’s summer spending to £155million, which is still short of Ipswich’s £173.2m investment.

Manager Gary O’Neil kept the same line-up that snatched a 2-1 win over Sunderland on their return to the top-flight, with new signing Exequiel Palacios on the bench following his move from Bayer Leverkusen.

Carrick got the reaction he wanted after the shock at Hull but there was still plenty to concern the United boss in a first half that saw his side fall behind again before equalising through Fernandes before the break.

They made a bright start to the game, with Rashford looking particularly lively on the left. A reluctance to track back and help out on defence was one of the criticisms levelled at the Wythenshawe-born star before he went out on loan to Aston Villa and Barcelona, but there was loud appreciation around Old Trafford when he lost the ball and immediately recovered to win it back.

New £70million signing Carlos Baleba was paraded on the pitch before kick-off but might not make his debut until mid-October due to an ankle injury

A mazy run from the England international in the seventh minute ended with Matheus Cunha firing over and Dalot then tricked Ipswich’s record signing Emersonn by cleverly switching the ball onto his weaker left foot and forcing a fingertip save from giant keeper Kjell Scherpen.

Ipswich almost scored from the resulting corner, however, as Julio Enciso chased Emersonn’s clearance downfield, pursued by Luke Shaw and Bryan Mbeumo, and saw his effort kept out by Senne Lammens’ left knee.

After Davis denied Shaw with an excellent block, the visitors went close again when Davis slid an inch-perfect pass beyond Dalot for Daizen Maeda whose first-time shot brought a vital one-handed save from Lammens.

The United keeper was beaten just before the half mark, though, and once again it raised questions over United’s failure to sign a new left-back this summer with two days to go until the transfer deadline.

Shaw looked vulnerable in the defeat at Hull, and he was left for dead by Abdul Fatawu who got away down the right and crossed to Davis who had been left unmarked by Mbeumo and met it with a first-time finish that flew in off the underside of the bar.

Up to that point, United had been more lively than they were at Hull but were still struggling to exert any control over the game, with the new midfield pairing of Mainoo and Tielemans taking time to gel.

However, they were presented with a rather fortunate opportunity to level the scores in the 40th minute, and Fernandes took it emphatically. Nunez slipped as he controlled a pass from Davis close to halfway, and suddenly United had a two-on-one advantage.

Shaw looked vulnerable in the defeat at Hull, and he was left for dead in the build up to the Tractor Boys’ opener

Cunha deserves credit for spotting the early pass and executing it by guiding the ball beyond Sasa Lukic and into the path of Fernandes. Did United’s captain have the legs to get away from his opponent? Probably not so he took one touch and then lashed the ball past Scherpen from 20 yards.

United were inches away from taking the lead seven minutes after the restart when Maguire met a clearance with a header to Mainoo who played the ball first time to Dalot. He swung a cross to the back post and Rashford stretched to guide the ball to the edge of the six-yard box where Mbeumo only had to knock it over the line but somehow managed to hit the bar with an effort off his knee.

United had their tails up and changed the complexion of this game with two goals within the space of five minutes. The first felt very harsh on Ipswich after Maguire challenged Chuba Akpom just outside the penalty area and clearly used both hands to control the ball. The United defender fired a low shot which was going wide until it hit Greaves, which not only diverted the ball in past Scherpen but also negated the handball, which seems a ridiculous rule.

No sooner had VAR official Jarred Gillett deemed it a goal than United were two in front. Mainoo burst through Ipswich’s midfield line and released Cunha who was tripped by Greaves as he raced into the box, and Fernandes sent Scherpen the wrong way from the spot.

Seven minutes later, the Portugal star was celebrating the third hat-trick of his United career. Mainoo and Mbeumo both had efforts blocked, and the ball ran kindly for Fernandes who was onside and able to slot home.

Last season’s record-breaking assist maker then turned creator again when he clipped the ball forward for Mbeumo to lob Scherpen for the fifth. But Ipswich deserve credit for their contribution to this game, and they pulled one back in the first minute of added time when Enciso punished Martinez for trying to over-play at the back by robbing the ball off him and squaring for Akpom to score.