Man United‘s season lurched into more trouble today as Chelsea claimed a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Michael Carrick‘s side wasted opportunities before the interval, then watched the afternoon unravel through a Morgan Rogers goal, a penalty and Lisandro Martínez‘s dismissal.
United have still won just once in nine Premier League fixtures this season, with seven points collected and their last league victory coming against Ipswich in August.
Early chances at Chelsea suggested they might be able to change that, but a wasteful attack and a ragged defence proved a miserable combination.
The opening half had offered United some encouragement, and Matheus Cunha thought he had put them ahead before his effort was ruled out for offside, while Bruno Fernandes failed to take a major chance.
|
Stat |
Chelsea |
Man United |
|---|---|---|
|
Goals |
2 |
0 |
|
Possession |
58.6% |
41.4% |
|
Expected goals (xG) |
2.11 |
1.17 |
|
Total shots |
18 |
12 |
|
Shots on target |
9 |
5 |
|
Big chances missed |
2 |
3 |
|
Corners |
8 |
7 |
|
Total passes |
540 |
379 |
|
Passing accuracy |
88.5% |
77.3% |
|
Offsides |
3 |
2 |
|
Fouls committed |
8 |
20 |
|
Yellow cards |
1 |
4 |
|
Red cards |
0 |
1 |
Roméo Lavia won possession and released Rogers, who drove through the visiting defence before lifting his finish over Senne Lammens. Chelsea suddenly had the breakthrough that United’s earlier chances had failed to produce.
Martinez then made a difficult situation considerably worse.
Already booked for a foul on Rogers, the Argentine caught Wesley Fofana with his arm as Chelsea attacked a corner.
Referee Peter Bankes reviewed the incident on the monitor and awarded a penalty, with Martinez getting his marching orders and leaving Carrick with 10 men and another enormous problem.
Cole Palmer converted a minute later, despite Lammens getting a hand to the spot kick, as United found themselves two goals down and struggling to find a route back.
Estevao twice had goals disallowed for offside, while Mike Penders denied Bryan Mbeumo late on by turning his effort onto the crossbar.
Chelsea had done enough to leave United facing another miserable journey home, and the result stretched United’s winless streak to nine matches across all competitions.
Carrick remains under fierce scrutiny amid reports concerning his future, and the promising parts of the first half offered little comfort once the points had gone.
Joe Cole delivers brutal Lisandro Martínez verdict after Man United lose at Chelsea
TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole’s anger was directed firmly at Martinez, with the former Chelsea midfielder delivering a damning assessment during their coverage, via the BBC.
“I’m still trying to come to terms with the Lisandro Martinez sending off. I don’t know what his thinking was,” said Cole.
“Whatever the next Man United phase is, I think Martinez’s time at the club has run its course. In a Man United shirt, he’s just at the scene of the crime too often. I think that’s his time done.”
It was a verdict that went well beyond one poor challenge, and Cole was questioning whether Martinez should have a place in whatever United try to build next.
That is a bruising assessment of a defender whose team needed composure when Chelsea began to get on top. At 1-0, United still had something to chase.
The penalty and dismissal made that task far harder, forcing Carrick to deal with a numerical disadvantage as well as the scoreline.
United’s problems cannot be reduced to one player or one incident, especially after chances went begging before half-time.
Martinez’s contribution still demands scrutiny because it helped turn a winnable afternoon into another damaging defeat.
Carrick will face the questions about the result. Cole’s message was that Martinez should be facing some uncomfortable questions about his own future too.
