Manchester United Hit Historic Low As Carrick Faces Fight To Save Job

Manchester United have collected just seven points from their opening nine Premier League matches, their worst-ever start to a season in the competition, with Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea extending their winless run in all competitions to nine games and intensifying pressure on manager Michael Carrick.

United’s latest setback at Stamford Bridge left them 16th in the table, just one point above the relegation zone, as their alarming decline continued under the former England midfielder.

The nine-game winless sequence is United’s longest in 38 years, dating back to October-November 1988, and has raised fresh questions about Carrick’s future after he was given another opportunity to turn things around following last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.

Since their last victory against Sabah in September, United have suffered six defeats and drawn three times, with Manchester City, Brighton, Atletico Madrid, Como, Bournemouth and Chelsea inflicting losses, while Fulham, Tottenham and Leeds held them to draws.

Saturday’s defeat was particularly damaging because United had shown encouraging signs in the first half but failed to maintain their performance after the interval.

Morgan Rogers opened the scoring for Chelsea five minutes into the second half before Lisandro Martinez was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession, conceding a penalty that Cole Palmer converted to seal the hosts’ victory.

United’s struggles have also extended to Europe, where two defeats in their opening three Champions League matches have left them 20th in the 36-team league phase standings and facing the prospect of missing out on the knockout stages.

Despite the mounting pressure, Carrick insists he expects to remain in charge for Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Roma.