Manchester United’s start to Michael Carrick’s first full season in charge has turned into a genuine crisis. According to Bleacher Report’s November 9 round-up, United have won just one of their first ten Premier League games and sit in the relegation zone going into the international break.
Manchester United’s Premier League crisis: the facts so far
- One win from ten league games, per Bleacher Report (9 November 2026).
- A 4-4 draw with Aston Villa and a 2-0 defeat to Hull City are among the results the report highlights.
- A 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on 1 November extended a winless run that AFP described as nine games, the club’s longest in 38 years.
- Carrick was reported to have been given a “stay of execution” before the Chelsea game, according to AFP.
What happened at Stamford Bridge
The Chelsea defeat shows how fragile United currently look. AFP reported that Morgan Rogers opened the scoring, and that Lisandro Martinez was booked twice within 83 seconds, leaving United with ten men. Cole Palmer converted the resulting penalty. Chelsea, managed by Xabi Alonso, won 2-0.
At the time, AFP noted that United were only just outside the bottom three on goal difference. Bleacher Report’s later round-up has them inside it. We have not been able to confirm the exact league table after the weekend’s games, so check the official Premier League table for current positions.
A season that has not found a rhythm
The early results have been chaotic rather than consistently poor. The 4-4 draw with Aston Villa showed United could score but could not keep a lead. A 5-2 win over Ipswich Town on 30 August is listed in the season’s results, as is a 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah on matchday one in September. Against that, there have been defeats to Hull City, Chelsea and others, and Bleacher Report describes only a single league victory.
The key problem, as AFP and Bleacher Report both frame it, is control. United have shown they can create chances but are conceding too easily and losing discipline in the games that matter.
Is Michael Carrick under pressure?
AFP’s reporting that Carrick was given a stay of execution before the Chelsea game shows that the pressure is real. That is a media report, not a club statement, and we have not seen any official comment from Manchester United about his position. A managerial change is not confirmed, and we are not treating it as likely or unlikely.
What can be said is that the international break pauses the fixture list for United.
Discipline is the clearest theme in AFP’s account. Martinez’s two bookings in 83 seconds at Chelsea changed the game, and Bleacher Report’s round-up adds a 2-0 defeat to Hull City and a 4-4 draw in which they conceded four. Managers can change shape and personnel, but a team that keeps going down to ten men or giving up leads is hard to coach around. Whether it is a confidence problem or a structural one is the question Carrick has to answer, and neither report offers a verdict on that.
For context, the Wikipedia season page lists United at 13th with seven points after seven matches as of 18 October, so the slide into the bottom three has come over the last three weeks rather than from day one.
What happens next
United’s next test comes when the Premier League returns after the international break. Fixtures are set by the Premier League, so check the official site for dates and kick-off times. The Champions League league phase resumes on 24 and 25 November with matchday five, according to the competition’s schedule.
To understand what a relegation battle means in practice, our explainer on promotion and relegation covers how the system works, and you can follow more storylines in Football News.
Ten games is early, and a lot can change. But for a club of Manchester United’s size, being in the bottom three at the November break is a sharp reminder of how little room for error the Premier League gives.
Sources: Bleacher Report (9 November 2026), AFP via Flashscore (early November 2026), Wikipedia 2026-27 Premier League and Champions League pages.
