Michael Carrick remains sure he will stay as Manchester United manager on Tuesday even though their terrible run goes on. Following a loss at Chelsea where Lisandro Martinez received a red card for a reckless elbow, the Red Devils are now without a win in nine matches.
This marks the worst start to a campaign for United since Ron Atkinson led the team in 1986, and the danger shows no sign of stopping. Carrick received a temporary reprieve earlier in the week, keeps the support of the supporters, and anticipates being in the dugout when they welcome Roma for a Champions League fixture on Tuesday.
When questioned if he would lead the team for that fixture, Carrick answered simply, "Yes." He stated during his press conference, "I'm just looking forward to getting the boys ready for midweek now."
The opening half could have unfolded differently because Chelsea appeared vulnerable while the away side failed to convert multiple opportunities, with Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo both wasting clear chances. Following an opening goal shortly after halftime by Morgan Rogers while Carrick's defensive line mostly watched, the team collapsed as Martinez picked up a booking before striking Wesley Fofana with his elbow to receive a second yellow card and a dismissal following a VAR check, allowing Cole Palmer to score from the resulting spot kick.
Carrick stated, "In the first half. We looked dangerous, we looked fluid, we looked like a good team, we looked really dangerous. We could have, should have scored one or two, maybe three, even with the chances and spaces that we created." He added, "Then the game gets away from us. I've not seen the decision back, so I don't know if it was or not. He's obviously gone to it, and the referee's given that decision, but it's a big moment in the game. The second half got away from us, which is something we've got to deal with, sometimes you get setbacks in games and you've got to deal with that better. That's what you've got to deal with, you've got to capitalise on when things are going well. It sums it up, you get that when you're having a run like we are, and the only way to do it is obviously taking your chances and flipping it, and staying in the game when maybe it does go against you for a moment. We didn't capitalise on the moments we had, and then we let it unravel too much."
Even with the collapse, supporters continued chanting Carrick's name, and the squad maintains they are still fighting for their pressured manager. Forward Bryan Mbuemo noted, "The mentality was there right from the first minute. Harder with 10 men. We still trust everyone. With the man down, we still had some frustrations at the end. But I think we have done everything as a team today. 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."
