LONDON: Michael Carrick’s position as Manchester United manager is increasingly under threat after his squad suffered a 0-2 defeat to Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL) match at Stamford Bridge last night.
The defeat saw United extend their winless streak to nine consecutive matches in all competitions, increasing the pressure on Carrick, who had previously enjoyed the trust of the club’s management.
The cheers from Chelsea fans who chanted ‘You’ll be sacked tomorrow morning’ as Carrick left the pitch also illustrated the growing pressure the manager was feeling.
However, the former United midfielder avoided commenting on his future and instead wanted to focus on the team’s preparations for the Champions League match against Roma on Wednesday.
“I just want to focus on preparing the players for the midweek match,” he said.
United actually started the match with energy in the first half after captain Bruno Fernandes returned to the starting lineup, but failed to capitalize on several opportunities through Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Amad Diallo.
Bryan Mbuemo also came close to opening the scoring when his attempt just rattled the goalpost.
However, failure to capitalise on that opportunity punished United when Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead four minutes into the second half.
Rogers brought the ball from his own area before passing through a United defence that seemed hesitant to react, before beating goalkeeper Senne Lammens with a stunning finish.
United’s situation worsened when Lisandro Martinez was shown a red card following a hard tackle on Wesley Fofana midway through the second half, awarding Chelsea a penalty.
Cole Palmer converted a penalty kick in the 63rd minute, although Lammens managed to touch the ball while trying to clear the attempt.
Carrick admitted that his team’s failure to capitalize on opportunities and defensive mistakes were the cause of the defeat.
“We failed to capitalize on the opportunities we had. The second half was out of our control. There are times in a game when you face difficult situations and you have to overcome them.
“You concede easy goals and things become more challenging when you have to play with 10 players,” he said.
Carrick also praised the spirit of his players who remained united despite facing difficult times recently.
The result saw United risk falling into the relegation zone as they were in 17th place, just one point above the bottom three, while Chelsea temporarily jumped to fourth place.