AFCON 2025
Chelsea beat 10-man Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and left Michael Carrick’s future in fresh doubt. Man United’s winless run stands at mine matches in all competitions.
The Red Devils last won a match in September when they sealed a 4-0 win over Sabah on matchday 1 of the Champions League.
The first half was end-to-end, and United held their own. Matheus Cunha and Estêvão each had goals ruled out for offside, and neither side found a way through before the break. Chelsea fielded the youngest starting XI in the Premier League this season, an average age of 23 years and 89 days.
Chelsea took control after the interval. Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half, when he dribbled straight through the United defence and dinked his finish over goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
The afternoon went bad for the vistors as Lisandro Martínez picked up a second yellow card in the 63rd minute, three minutes and 30 seconds after his first, when VAR spotted his elbow hitting Wesley Fofana as a Chelsea corner came into the box.
Cole Palmer doubled the lead from the penalty spot a minute later, in the 64th minute. Lammens got two hands on the spot-kick, but the ball ended inside the net as Chelsea took charge of the game.
Chelsea had chances to add more, and United kept pushing with 10 men. Bryan Mbeumo struck a powerful effort in injury time, but Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders tipped it onto the bar to keep his clean sheet.
The defeat leaves United with just seven points from their opening nine games and raises fears of a relegation battle.
Many expected the club to sack Carrick after last weekend’s 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth, but the hierarchy gave him more time. Bruno Fernandes returned to the starting XI after he missed that game but had little impact.
Carrick’s side have only gone 10 matches without a win twice in their history, in 1977-78 and 1961-62. They face Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday.
