1878 Match Reaction: United 0 Chelsea 2

United had put in their best performance of the season in the first half and could have been two goals up at the break - only to concede a soft goal right after half-time, and then suffer Martinez’s headloss which saw him concede a penalty and earn a red card to completely undermine the hard work that had been done.  

The problem Carrick had coming into the game was that he didn’t have a strong enough or deep enough squad to continue to ring the changes, and sooner or later, he would have had to revert to the senior players who have caused the club such difficulty on and off the pitch all season long. One could understand the logic behind recalling Bruno Fernandes - and keeping the armband on him - and Martinez, even if there was also the lingering doubt that it would make much difference.