The Red Devils are now threatened with relegation

The 2-0 defeat to Chelsea spilled far beyond the pitch. Up in the stands, Manchester United fans turned on the club's management with sharp criticism and abusive chants, their anger fuelled by sliding results and boardroom turmoil.

United's supporters had travelled to Stamford Bridge in big numbers, braced for another defeat and ready to vent their fury at those running the club.

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Just six days after the Stretford End ramped up its protests at Old Trafford following the loss to Bournemouth, the Chelsea clash brought a fresh wave of attacks on the club's leadership, the atmosphere in the stands crackling with tension.

Jim Ratcliffe took the brunt of it. The co-owner found himself the target of obscene chants that lumped him in with the Glazer family, proof that a change of ownership had not delivered the transformation fans were waiting for.

The chants went as follows: "Jim Ratcliffe is a son of..., Jim Ratcliffe is a son of..., just like the Glazers, Ratcliffe is a son of...", as reported by the British newspaper "The Sun".

Other officials copped it too. Director of football Jason Wilcox took a barrage of insults, and chief executive Omar Berrada ranked among the most prominent names in the firing line, especially as Manchester United squandered several chances before half-time.

Cameras caught Wilcox and Berrada in an awkward moment aboard the team bus, while manager Michael Carrick cut a frustrated figure after the match.

"Reign of terror"

Carrick is now set to take charge of at least two more matches before the international break. His future hangs in the balance, with the club potentially sacking a third manager in two and a half years, part of what the newspaper described as a "reign of terror".

Ratcliffe, for his part, appears to be getting no gentler a reception than the Glazers ever did, inside Old Trafford or out. For the fans, a shiny new stadium with all the modern trimmings counts for nothing if the club slides towards relegation.

The anger at Wilcox traces back to Lisandro Martínez's comments after United's Champions League loss to Atlético Madrid, when the Argentine defender took aim at the club's leadership.

The report signed off by noting that Manchester United's fans "have become the only positive left within the club", with officials finding fewer and fewer places to hide from the criticism and boardroom change looking increasingly inevitable.