Nine Without a Win: Pressure Mounts on Carrick as United’s Crisis Deepens

Manchester United's winless run stretched to nine matches on Saturday, their longest stretch without a victory in 38 years, after a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea piled fresh pressure on head coach Michael Carrick.

United were the better side before half-time at Stamford Bridge but failed to take their chances, and were punished after the break when Morgan Rogers burst through the middle of their defence to open the scoring.

Defender Lisandro Martinez then collected two quick yellow cards, the second conceding a penalty that Cole Palmer dispatched in the 64th minute, to leave United's afternoon in ruins.

Relegation zone avoided, for now

United avoided slipping into the bottom three on Saturday: Nottingham Forest's 2-0 loss at Brentford kept them above the line, and Crystal Palace's later 2-0 defeat at Tottenham meant they stayed there, but the margin for error is now wafer-thin.

What comes next

With the January window on the horizon, Carrick's side urgently need a win to stop the slide before it hardens into a full-blown crisis.

Source: Reuters