Carrick urges United to 'keep moving forward' after Martinez red card sinks them at Chelsea

Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Lisandro Martinez’s second-half dismissal turning a competitive match into a one-sided finish and leaving the visitors potentially one result away from dropping into the Premier League relegation zone.

United had been the better side in the opening 45 minutes, creating several clear-cut chances without converting, but Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock in the 59th minute. Martinez was then shown a second yellow card after a collision with Wesley Fofana, and Cole Palmer converted the resulting penalty despite goalkeeper Senne Lammens getting a hand to the shot. United could not respond with 10 men for the remainder of the game.

“I think it was as good as we’ve played for some time in the first half,” interim manager Michael Carrick said at his post-match press conference. “We looked dangerous, we looked fluid, we looked like a good team. Could, should have scored one or two, maybe three even with the chances and the spaces that we created, and then the game gets away from us.”

Carrick admitted the sending-off was a pivotal moment. “It was a major part of the game. The second goal and losing the man at that stage had a big influence on it, for sure.”

He acknowledged the stark contrast between the two halves. “Sometimes you get setbacks in games and you’ve got to deal with that better. The two halves of football probably couldn’t be further apart in some ways.”

United arrived at Stamford Bridge just one point above the drop zone, meaning other results on the day could see them fall into the bottom three. Carrick refused to treat that prospect as a psychological burden. “We have got to keep moving forward and winning games, simple as that. There’s no words that I’m going to explain to you now that makes it any difference. We’ve got to move forward and win football matches.”

Asked whether there would be a stigma attached to entering the relegation places, Carrick was blunt: “Not from me, no.”

The defeat continues a difficult run for United, who have now lost consecutive Premier League fixtures under Carrick’s temporary charge.