Chelsea beat 10-man Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer scoring after the break and Lisandro Martinez sent off.
The defeat leaves Michael Carrick’s side a point above the relegation zone, Sky Sports reported. It is nine league and cup games since United last won.
The turning point
The game was goalless at half-time, and BBC Sport said United should have been ahead. Bruno Fernandes and Amad both blazed good chances off target, and Chelsea keeper Mike Penders made two fine saves.
Chelsea took the lead five minutes after the restart. Livescore reported that Romeo Lavia won the ball in midfield and found Rogers about 35 yards out. Rogers went past Harry Maguire and Martinez before lifting the ball over Senne Lammens.
Martinez was then booked for fouling Rogers. Shortly afterwards, as Estevao swung in a corner, Martinez tried to block Wesley Fofana at the far post and raised an elbow into his face.
The referee, Peter Bankes, did not see it at first. VAR James Bell sent him to the pitchside screen, and Martinez was shown a second yellow card. Chelsea were also given a penalty, which Palmer scored.
BBC Sport put the damage down to one minute and 23 seconds, in which Martinez’s two fouls left United 2-0 down and a man short. Sky Sports said barely three minutes separated his two bookings. Either way, the match was effectively over within about 15 minutes of Chelsea’s opener.
Darren Cann, a World Cup final official, told BBC Sport that Martinez jumped into Fofana without looking at the ball. Cann said the red card was deserved and that the penalty was needless.
Carrick’s response
Carrick did not look at Martinez as he left the pitch, according to both the BBC and Sky. He was instead working out a plan with assistant Steve Holland.
The United head coach said afterwards that he had not seen the incident again. He called it “a big moment in the game” and said the second goal and the loss of a man had a big influence.
Former England midfielder Danny Murphy, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said he would not pick Martinez again. Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole told TNT Sports that Martinez’s time at the club had run its course.
Stephen Warnock, a former Liverpool defender, told BBC Sport that at 1-0 United were still in the game. At 2-0 and with 10 men, he said, it was effectively over.
United did have some luck late on. The BBC said a very tight VAR offside call ruled out an Estevao effort. That spared them a third successive defeat by three goals, which they have not suffered since 1961.
Chelsea, under Xabi Alonso, climb back into the top four.
The BBC calls United’s winless run their worst since 1988-89. Another outlet, All Football, put it at the longest since 1984.
Martinez will miss next Sunday’s Premier League game against Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Before that, United host Roma on Tuesday, and the BBC said Carrick was expected to be in charge for that match.
Sources: Sky Sports, Livescore, BBC Sport
This story was compiled by the MDW Newsdesk with AI-assisted tools, using the reporting credited above.
