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10/31 10:32 CDT 10-man Man United loses at Chelsea to leave Carrick's job in
further jeopardy
10-man Man United loses at Chelsea to leave Carrick's job in further jeopardy
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
Michael Carrick's position as Manchester United manager was jeopardized further
Saturday with a 2-0 loss at Chelsea in the Premier League, with a red card to
Lisandro Martinez adding to the woes of the beleaguered English giant.
Carrick was already under huge pressure --- and seemingly operating on a
match-by-match basis --- heading into the game at Stamford Bridge, for which he
restored Bruno Fernandes to the starting lineup after dropping his captain last
week.
It has gotten worse for Carrick, with United now on a nine-match winless run in
all competitions --- its longest streak without a victory since 1988, according
to the BBC --- after second-half goals by Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer.
"Things have gone against us, and gone against us in a big way," Carrick said.
"It unraveled quickly."
Palmer converted a 64th-minute penalty awarded after Martinez jumped with a
raised elbow toward Wesley Fofana at a corner and struck the Chelsea defender
in the face. A video review confirmed the offense and the Argentina defender,
already in the spotlight for criticizing United's hierarchy in a recent
post-match interview, was given a second yellow card in a four-minute span.
As Martinez walked off the field and down the tunnel, Carrick didn't even
acknowledge the player.
"It has a major importance on the game," Carrick said of the sending-off. "A
huge moment."
United stayed on just one win in the league after nine games and is one point
above the relegation zone. There's a chance the 20-time English champions could
be in the bottom three by the end of the round, a desperate situation for a
club widely regarded as the biggest in the country.
United's only two victories from 13 matches in all competitions this season
were against promoted Ipswich in the Premier League and tournament newcomer
Sabah in the Champions League.
United's next match is at home to Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday and
there has to be some doubt whether Carrick will still be in charge.
"I think the mentality was there right from the first minute," United forward
Bryan Mbeumo said. "We still trust everyone.
"Maybe today we just missed some chances. We could have been up early in the
game, but that's a positive to take out of this game."
City-Brighton among seven other matches coming up There were seven more matches to be played in the Premier League on Saturday, the highlight being first-place Manchester City hosting Brighton in a repeat of their English League Cup meeting on Wednesday won by City on penalties. Tottenham is at home to Crystal Palace and in-form Bournemouth welcomes Leeds. ___ Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80 ___ See AP's full soccer coverage here |
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