Manchester United's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday was a self-inflicted disaster, with Lisandro Martinez's red card ending any hope of a comeback. The loss leaves manager Michael Carrick under increasing pressure.
First-half dominance wasted
United should have been ahead at the break after dominating the first half against a lacklustre Chelsea. Despite playing well, they were once again recklessly wasteful in front of goal.
Amad should have scored at least two but lacked composure to finish, having yet another shocker. Bruno Fernandes was also guilty of missing chances, and Matheus Cunha's touch in the box when clear on goal was horrendous.
The one bit of quality in the game came from Morgan Rogers with a driving run and brilliant dinked finish. It was the difference, punishing United's first-half profligacy soon after the second half started.
Martinez's moment of idiocy
Cunha was pushed into an offside position when he tapped home, which should have been the confidence-boosting first goal. But luck is not on Carrick's side.
Lisandro Martinez has had a shocking season and been responsible for several goals with his blunders, including the own goal against Fulham and the failure to deal with Dominic Solanke against Tottenham. His ridiculous barge on Fofana was off the scale stupid, ending the game with a red card and penalty which Senne Lammens should have saved.
Chelsea were never going to surrender their 2-0 lead from that point and indeed should have added more. Bryan Mbeumo's thunderbolt shot being finger-tipped onto the underside of the Chelsea bar by Mike Penders in the closing stages summed it all up.
Carrick's position hangs in balance
Carrick 'takes responsibility' as his position hangs in balance. Martinez's head is clearly not right after his return from Las Malvinas flag-waving at the World Cup, and it is time to move him on.
Should Carrick survive this latest defeat? Yes, because his team actually played really well in the first half. And with a Champions League game on Tuesday against Roma and Sunday against Villa, there is simply no time to change now. No one else is going to quickly improve what he has at his disposal.
