Halloween has delivered another horror show for Manchester United. And this one comes with a particularly nasty statistic.

Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, courtesy of goals from Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer, extended United’s winless streak to nine games in all competitions, their worst run of the 21st century.

Lisandro Martínez’s red card merely added to Michael Carrick’s misery, with the Red Devils now hovering dangerously close to the Premier League relegation zone.

When did Manchester United last go nine games without a win in all competitions?

You have to rewind 38 years, to October and November 1988, when Alex Ferguson was still finding his feet at Old Trafford.

That United side also endured nine consecutive games without victory, long before Ferguson transformed the club into English soccer’s dominant force.

More recently, Louis van Gaal survived an eight-game winless streak in late 2015, finally ending it with a 2-1 victory over Swansea on January 2, 2016.

What next for Manchester United?

Carrick’s side have now drawn three and lost six of their last nine games. Next up is Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday. Whether Carrick survives to oversee that game is another question entirely.

Chelsea 2-0 Man Utd: match report

Another disaster for Manchester United. And another step backward. Far from turning a corner, the Red Devils have lost their way completely. The conversations between Michael Carrick and the board, between Carrick and the dressing room, are now a distant memory. The manager is alone in his daunting mission to reverse the fortunes of a team in free fall. United are relying on other results to avoid ending the weekend in the relegation zone. The irony is that, sooner or later, Carrick will almost certainly be the one who pays the price.

United were relatively good in the first half, but they imploded in the second, falling apart in less than 15 minutes. Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock in the 50th minute, taking advantage of the visitors’ passive defending, before Lisandro Martínez picked up two yellow cards in the space of three minutes. His second booking not only brought a red card but also allowed Cole Palmer to score from the penalty spot. The standout performer was Estêvão, who finally got his chance despite Xabi Alonso’s previous reluctance to play him.

And United had actually started well. They looked particularly alert after the referee ruled out an early Estêvão goal. For a while, they appeared determined to turn things around. They fought harder than in recent games, looked better organized and more compact, and created the clearest chances of the first half.

Bruno Fernandes found himself unmarked inside the penalty area in the 19th minute, with Mike Penders in front of him. The Portuguese midfielder opted to shoot with his left foot but sent the ball sailing over the crossbar.

After the half-hour mark, Wesley Fofana dallied in midfield, allowing Amad Diallo to steal possession and race toward the Chelsea penalty area. Penders turned his shot behind for a corner. That led to another corner, from which Fernandes delivered a deep cross. Harry Maguire rose above two defenders to direct a header downward, and Matheus Cunha got in front of his marker to turn the ball into the net.

Goal? Not quite. The Brazilian was offside, and United’s celebrations were cut short.

Rather than building on their promising spell, United began to lose their composure, and Chelsea came close to taking advantage during a frantic end to the first half. A Fofana header struck Moisés Caicedo, and only the post prevented the afternoon’s opening goal. Diallo and Pedro Neto then squandered the final two opportunities before the break.

A completely different story after halftime

United lost the plot in the second half. This was the same team that had been thrashed by Como and Bournemouth, the same side that had disappointed against Hull and Brighton in the Carabao Cup.

Nobody challenged Rogers as he surged forward in the 50th minute. The Englishman encountered virtually no resistance as he made his way into Senne Lammens’ penalty area and beat the Belgian goalkeeper.

Twelve minutes later, Rogers was brought down by Martínez. The Argentine saw no other way of stopping his opponent’s progress and received his first yellow card.

It took him just three more minutes to collect a second booking and the red card that sent him down the tunnel.He completely lost his head.

With a cross dropping into United’s penalty area, Martínez inexplicably ignored the ball. His attention was fixed on Fofana, and he seemed determined to go after him. He launched himself at the Chelsea defender, knocking him over in midair without a second thought.

VAR alerted the referee, who punished the Argentine center back’s reckless reaction. Palmer converted the resulting penalty, much to the frustration of Lammens, who had guessed correctly and even managed to get a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.

United staring into the abyss

More than half an hour remained, and there were another 10 minutes of stoppage time, but United never looked remotely capable of threatening Chelsea’s lead.

There was no pride, no courage. Neither quality nor fight.

Things could have been even worse had Estêvão not seen another goal ruled out after a Mason Mount mistake allowed Chelsea to break quickly toward the United goal.

Just one point separates the Red Devils from the relegation places. They are staring into the abyss. And they could find themselves in the bottom three before the weekend is over depending on other results.

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