Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, plunging them further into disaster, and Bruno Fernandes' reaction told a story

Bruno Fernandes appeared to be wiping away tears after Manchester United suffered another damaging defeat at Stamford Bridge.

United were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea on Saturday afternoon as their winless run reached nine matches. Second-half goals from Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer settled it for the home side, who also benefited from a red card for Lisandro Martinez.

Michael Carrick's position as manager is now under new more scrutiny, with United sitting in 17th place, just above the relegation zone in the Premier League. They have taken just seven points from their nine matches - the club's worst start to a campaign since 1988.

Having been dropped for the 3-0 thrashing by Bournemouth last weekend, Fernandes was back in the starting line-up as captain against Chelsea. The playmaker held clear-the-air talks with Carrick in mid-week after his provocative comments in Como made headlines.

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But Fernandes was powerless to stop another defeat as United spurned numerous chances to take the lead before collapsing after the break. His emotions were there for all to see after the final whistle.

United's players went over the away end at Stamford Bridge to applaud the travelling supporters, who stayed until the end. Fernandes was caught by the TV cameras staring blankly ahead and as he walked off he seemed to be wiping tears away.

Before the game, Carrick insisted that he didn't have a problem with his captain and he praised his performance in defeat in west London. "I was happy with the team first half, especially individually in it," he told TNT Sports. "The discipline, the role, the quality of the football were all there."

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Carrick's job has been under threat for the past few weeks, with the United hierarchy considering replacements, including Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte. But the supporters have stuck by their former midfielder, chanting his name while attributing the blame to the club's owners.

Asked about the fans, Carrick said: "There is a lot of emotion, we're a great football club, and we want to win football matches. The supporters come, make a lot of effort, pay a lot of money to watch us play. You can see from today the boys had the game in the right place and things have gone against us.

"Things have gone against us, and gone against us in a big way. Unravelled quickly. A lot of emotion right now.

"We have got to move forward and take the things that worked for us today. A lot of the good things, especially in the first half and use that moving forward."

Despite winning just two of his 13 games this season, Carrick is expecting to remain in charge for Tuesday's Champions League game against Roma.