The 63rd-minute dismissal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 31 October was the point at which the defender’s season fully turned on him. Lisandro Martinez, already on a booking, struck Wesley Fofana at a Chelsea corner and was sent off after a VAR review by Peter Bankes. Cole Palmer converted the resulting penalty in the 64th minute to make it 2-0, after Morgan Rogers had opened the scoring in the 50th.
Peter Schmeichel, speaking in a verdict carried by Yahoo Sports, placed the entire result at Martinez’s door.
“I put this solely on Lisandro Martinez’s shoulders. This is an absolute disgrace how he played,” the former Manchester United goalkeeper said.
Gary Neville, analysing the match for Sky Sports, was similarly unsparing. The Sky Sports pundit said he would have been “curled up in a ball” after a performance like that, and claimed Martinez was now at fault for a goal every time he watched him play.
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A fine on 16 October, a red card on 31 October
The sending-off was not an isolated flashpoint. After Manchester United’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid in mid-October, Martinez used his post-match interviews to turn on technical director Jason Wilcox, questioning the summer recruitment that had left head coach Michael Carrick short of options.
United fined him and the 28-year-old issued a public apology on 16 October.
“The frustration of the defeat led me to express how I felt at a time and place that perhaps were not the right ones, and for that I want to apologise,” Martinez said in his statement.
The Manchester Evening News, which had previously framed Martinez as United’s most important defender, used the Chelsea red card to argue his attitude and performances had slipped in tandem. The paper’s “sulking liability” verdict ties the Atletico outburst to Saturday’s indiscipline as a single arc of decline.
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Murphy: ‘He has put Carrick in a big dilemma’
Danny Murphy, speaking on Match of the Day in comments relayed by Yardbarker, suggested the dressing-room picture is murkier than it looks.
“I do not know whether he is thinking of leaving, or feeling upset about everything happening around the club, but he has put Carrick in a big dilemma now,” Murphy said.
On talkSPORT, Scott Saunders went further, in a line reported by CaughtOffside.
“This guy can’t play for Man United again,” Saunders said.
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Carrick kept on for now
Carrick himself remains in post for Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Roma at Old Trafford. United’s hierarchy are highly unlikely to change manager before the international break, despite crisis talks after the Chelsea loss.
The club sit 17th in the Premier League with seven points from nine games (one win, four draws, four defeats) and are winless in nine matches across all competitions. It is their worst league start since 1986.
Roma visit Old Trafford on Tuesday 3 November in the Champions League, with Aston Villa to follow in the Premier League before the international break during which Carrick’s longer-term position will be reviewed.
Sources: – [Manchester United crisis deepens with Chelsea defeat and Martínez red card](https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2026/10/31/manchester-united-crisis-deepens-with-chelsea-defeat-and-martinez-red-card/) – [Chelsea 2-0 Manchester United (NBC Sports)](https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/live/chelsea-vs-manchester-united-live-updates-score-goals-highlights-stats-2026-october-31)
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