Michael Carrick issues reaction to Lisandro Martinez’s implosion in Man United’s Chelsea loss

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick has responded to Lisandro Martinez’s moment of madness in the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Self-destruction

United extended their winless run to nine games across all competitions as they suffered another loss, this time to Chelsea.

The Red Devils showed real promise in the first half, yet their momentum evaporated in the second period, handing Chelsea the initiative.

Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock when he danced past the United midfield and defence to stick the ball into the back of the net.

Chelsea were 2-0 up less than 15 minutes later through Cole Palmer, who converted from the penalty spot. The hosts were handed a penalty after Martinez deliberately elbowed Wesley Fofana inside the box while United were defending a corner.

Replays showed that the Argentine did not have his eyes on the ball at all and was firmly fixated on Fofana. He was given a second yellow card and consequently a red, leaving United with the impossible task of mounting a comeback.

After the final whistle, Carrick spoke to reporters and shared his thoughts on the game. He was also questioned about Martinez.

Carrick’s verdict

Carrick said, “We didn’t really get going second half. We could’ve, should’ve been up really first half. Thought everyone was as positive as we could’ve hoped for. We looked really dangerous coming into half time and we found a way to unravel it second half.”

“Bad goal to concede then penalty and we’re up against it. Turned right on its head.”

Asked whether the first goal hurt the team’s confidence, Carrick answered, “I don’t think the heads dropped. There’s no hiding from the fact that we haven’t won enough games. It gives them a lift and makes it harder for us.”

“We didn’t start the second half particularly great.”

He said about Martinez’s sending off, “I’ve not looked at it, to be honest. I’ve not seen it.”

Asked whether he feels let down by Martinez, Carrick simply answered, “No.”

On the fans signing his name while booing the players, Carrick remarked, “There’s a lot of emotion. We’re a great football club. We want to win football matches. The supporters make a lot of effort and pay a lot of money to watch us play. Things have gone against us in a big way and unravelled quite quickly. There’s a lot of emotions running around.”

“We have got to move forward and take the things that worked for us today. A lot of the good things, especially in the first half and use that moving forward.”

Carrick added that he expects to be in charge for the next game against Roma on Tuesday.

Featured image by Alex Pantling via Getty Images