Michael Carrick has insisted he does not feel let down by Lisandro Martinez despite the defender's costly dismissal in Manchester United's defeat by Chelsea.
United, who had been firmly on top in the first half, trailed 1-0 to Morgan Rogers' superb effort during Saturday's Premier League lunchtime kick-off at Stamford Bridge, with Martinez already on a yellow card for bringing down the goalscorer.
Martinez sent off after 83 seconds
The Argentine centre-back, while not watching the ball, then ran at Wesley Fofana while defending a Chelsea cross with his forearm raised and appeared to make contact in the face. Referee Peter Bankes did not give a penalty initially but awarded the spot-kick after a VAR review and produced a second yellow card for Martinez for a reckless challenge. There were just 83 seconds between the two fouls.
"He's not attempting to play the ball," said VAR James Bell, per the Premier League Match Centre. "I can't see him attempt to do anything else other than jump into his opponent leading with an arm here."
Bankes announced to the crowd: "After review, Manchester United No.6 commits a reckless challenge with his arm. The final decision is a penalty kick, and a second yellow card for Manchester United No.6."
Cole Palmer converts the penalty
Cole Palmer stepped up to dispatch the spot-kick for Chelsea as Senne Lammens got two hands on the ball but could not keep it out, leaving United trailing 2-0 with 10 men and 25 minutes still to play.
There was no further punishment on the scoreboard, though not for a lack of trying on Chelsea's part as Estevao saw two goals disallowed for offside on a rare start and Lammens made several impressive saves, plus some glaring misses by the likes of substitute Valentin Barco.
United almost set up a grandstand finish during 10 minutes of second-half stoppage time, only for stand-in Blues goalkeeper Mike Penders to push Bryan Mbeumo's rasping 20-yard effort against the crossbar with his fingertips.
Pressure mounts on Carrick
Martinez's moment of madness meant there was realistically no way back for Carrick's side against Chelsea as they slipped to a third successive loss and fourth in the last five games, stretching their winless run across all competitions to nine matches - their worst sequence since 1988 - and leaving them vulnerable to potentially dropping into the relegation zone, depending on results elsewhere.
It piled yet more pressure on the under-fire manager, just weeks after Martinez had taken aim at United's hierarchy and transfer business in an explosive post-match interview that followed the Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid - comments for which he later apologised and was reportedly fined.
Despite that, Carrick refused to blame Martinez for a result that could yet leave him back on the brink of the sack, having been handed a surprise stay of execution in the wake of two heavy losses against Como and Bournemouth.
"I've not looked at it to be honest," Carrick told TNT Sports at Stamford Bridge when asked for his thoughts on the penalty decision and red card. "I've not seen it." Asked if he felt let down by one of his more experienced players, Carrick simply shook his head.
