Michael Carrick’s stay of execution as Manchester United boss may not last long after his team imploded in a 2-0 Premier League loss at Chelsea.
uncertain
team → last → Chelsea
The visitors wasted a string of chances to take the lead at Stamford Bridge on Saturday before Morgan Rogers waltzed through the heart of the United defence to open the scoring on 50 minutes.
asserted
Rogers → waste → minutes
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Arsenal → 4wounde → Liverpool
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Lisandro Martinez then ruined any chance of a revival from Carrick’s men with two quickfire yellow cards, the second of which also conceded a penalty converted by Cole Palmer.
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second → ruin → Palmer
Winless in nine games, their defeat leaves the 20-time English champions still just one point above the relegation zone and in danger of ending the weekend in the bottom three.
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defeat → leave → bottom
Many expected Carrick to be axed following last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.
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Carrick → expect → Bournemouth
The former United midfielder was instead given the chance to turn his side’s fortunes around and will lament a lack of ruthlessness during the first half.
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midfielder → give → half
Carrick recalled captain Bruno Fernandes after he was left out last weekend in the wake of criticising his manager’s tactics during the 4-1 thrashing at Como in the Champions League.
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he → recall → League
Fernandes should have marked his return with the opener when he blazed over from Bryan Mbeumo’s inviting cross.
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he → mark → cross
The roles were reversed when Mbeumo could not stretch to meet Fernandes’s delivery at the back post before Amad Diallo was twice denied by Chelsea’s stand-in goalkeeper Mike Penders.
uncertain
Diallo → reverse → goalkeeper
United did finally get the ball in the net when Matheus Cunha turned in Harry Maguire’s header from a corner, but the Brazilian had strayed just offside.
asserted
Brazilian → get → corner
Carrick could not hide his frustration in a half-time interview with broadcasters and his mood soured further with a disastrous start to the second period.
uncertain
mood → hide → period
Chelsea’s Rogers credits Carrick for revitalising his career during a spell together at Middlesbrough, but dealt a potentially decisive blow to his former boss.
asserted
Rogers → credit → boss
The England international collected the ball inside the centre circle but was allowed to drive directly towards the United goal before dinking the ball over Senne Lammens.
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international → collect → Lammens
Martinez also spoke out publicly in recent weeks to criticise United’s lack of spending in the transfer market to bolster Carrick’s squad.
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Martinez → speak → squad
But on this season’s evidence, Martinez is one of those most in need of replacing.
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Martinez → replace → need
The Argentine international could not cope with Rogers’s strength moments later as he was penalised for hauling back the Chelsea forward.
uncertain
he → cope → forward
From the resulting free-kick, Martinez then needlessly crashed into Wesley Fofana with a raised forearm.
asserted
Martinez → result → forearm
After a VAR review, referee Peter Banks awarded a penalty and showed Martinez a second yellow card.
asserted
Banks → award → card
Lammens got hands to Palmer’s spot-kick but still allowed the ball to trickle into the bottom corner.
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ball → get → corner
On a rare start since Xabi Alonso took charge of the Blues, Estevao had a third goal disallowed for offside when he crashed a pass from Palmer into the top corner.
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he → take → corner
Cries of “sacked in the morning” rained down from the Chelsea fans as their side toyed with United for the final quarter without adding to their lead.
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side → sack → lead
Another big decision awaits the United hierarchy before the massive Champions League clash at home to Roma on Tuesday.
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decision → await → Tuesday
Beaten in two of their three European games so far, United face both the embarrassment and financial shock of an early exit should they fall to another defeat against the Italians at Old Trafford.
asserted
they → beat → Trafford
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