Bryan Mbeumo: 'We Didn't Let Carrick Down'

Bryan Mbeumo insisted that Manchester United's players did not let manager Michael Carrick down following their defeat to Chelsea.

The pressure on Carrick has mounted further after Manchester United were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, undone by a lacklustre second-half display and a red card for Lisandro Martínez.

United failed to convert clear chances through Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo in the first half, and also had a Matheus Cunha goal ruled out for offside. The Red Devils were unable to carry their promising first-half form into the period after the break.

Chelsea went ahead in the 50th minute when Morgan Rogers breezed past United's midfield and defence to score. Shortly afterwards, Cole Palmer converted a penalty conceded by Martínez, who was sent off after two reckless challenges in quick succession.

Without a win in nine matches, Manchester United are enduring their worst run since 1988. Mbeumo, who saw a powerful late strike saved by goalkeeper Mike Penders in the closing stages, stressed that his teammates had given everything they had.

Asked whether the players had let Carrick down, Mbeumo said: "No, absolutely not. We were out there with the right mentality from the first minute. Things get difficult when you're down to 10 men. Playing with one man fewer left us a little frustrated at the end of the game, but I think we did everything we could as a team."

The forward, who said there were positives to take from the first-half performance, added: "We did a lot of things right, especially in the first half when we could have gone ahead. We created plenty of goalscoring chances, which is a positive. We hadn't been creating much in recent games, and we were up against a quality side. Our fighting spirit was there on the pitch and everyone worked extremely hard. We'll keep working on our shortcomings in training."

The defeat leaves Manchester United down in 16th place in the Premier League, facing the danger of ending the matchweek in the relegation zone. The Red Devils face Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday before hosting Aston Villa in their final match ahead of the international break.