• Defeat against Chelsea extends winless run to nine games

• Carrick clinging on to job after club’s worst run since 1988

Michael Carrick insisted he would still be in charge when Manchester United face Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday, despite the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday. United’s problems mounted as their winless run reached nine games. Carrick is clinging on to his job after overseeing the club’s first such run since 1988 and tried to focus on the next game as he analysed his side’s defending when Morgan Rogers opened the scoring for Chelsea.

“It’s never a good goal to concede,” he said. “Morgan went through the middle of us and at that point the game was right in the balance. To concede like that was a big moment. I’m just looking forward to getting the boys ready for midweek now.”

Get ready for another week of agonising over the sorry state of Manchester United. The legends of old will rage on podcasts, clips of a fuming Gary Neville will fly around social media and by the time United play again there is every chance a new manager will be in the dugout.

There were echoes of Erik ten Hag’s final game in charge as the walls closed in on Michael Carrick here on Saturday. United missed chances at 0-0, just as they did when Ten Hag lost to West Ham a day before his sacking two years ago, and Chelsea exacted punishment after initially delivering a performance so bad it had you worrying for the nascent Xabi Alonso project.

• Forward sent off after 80 minutes for second yellow card

• ‘We need to have maturity to deal with difficult moments’

Xabi Alonso said that Cole Palmer must learn from his red card during Chelsea’s shock 2-0 defeat to Tottenham, who claimed their first win at Stamford Bridge since 2018 thanks to an own goal from Mike Penders and a late effort from Mathys Tel.

Spurs, who had won on one of their previous 34 trips to west London, were already 1-0 up when Palmer earned a second yellow card for catching Conor Gallagher with a late tackle. The playmaker could have been sent off earlier – his first booking came during a clash with Mateus Fernandes – and Alonso agreed that this could be an important lesson for the 24-year-old.

There are days when Tottenham go into these big games and find ways to beat themselves. This time, though, they held their nerve at a ground where they have mostly only known doom. Spurs played with control, stayed patient and won at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2018 after waiting for Chelsea to press the self-destruct button during a calamitous and comical ending to a cagey game.

Chelsea were meant to have grown. Xabi Alonso had even praised his side’s emotional control and ability to manage awkward spells during the buildup, but perhaps that was asking for trouble. Chelsea, short of poise on and off the pitch, deserved to be beaten at home for the first time this season and there was plenty of blame to go around after Alonso got his tactics wrong, Mike Penders scored a ridiculous own goal and Cole Palmer was sent off after a lunge on Conor Gallagher when he was already on a booking.

Watch and learn, kids. The day began with one for the youth audience, Cole Palmer appearing on a live stream to explain the thinking behind his latest contract extension. It finished with the oldest player to join Chelsea during the BlueCo era stealing the show with an all-action midfield display.

Even Palmer was happy to step aside as Jordan Henderson used his right foot to curl home a free-kick that drew comparisons with one of David Beckham’s specials. It was Henderson’s second spectacular strike – he marked his home debut by opening the scoring with a bending effort from 20 yards and also laid on an assist for Morgan Rogers to make it 2-0 – although it is fair to assume that Xabi Alonso did not bring the veteran to Stamford Bridge for his goalscoring prowess.

Do not make the mistake of assuming this was a backs-to-the-wall effort from Hull. Their remarkable start to the season goes on and a point was the least Sergej Jakirovic’s side deserved after they pushed Chelsea to the limit in an absorbing game.

This was the first time Chelsea have dominated possession in a league game this season and it did not lead to anything pretty. Xabi Alonso’s attack was contained for long spells, even though goals from Morgan Rogers and João Pedro ended Hull’s spotless defensive record, and the Spaniard’s side remain a mess without the ball. Chelsea are conceding at a rate of two a game and saw their winless run in home games against promoted sides stretched to five after Mohamed Belloumi twice punished defensive errors during the first half.

Where’s the fun in doing it the easy way? Chelsea remain chaotic at the back but can drag their opponents into horrible places. It helps, mind you, to have some assistance from the referee. Jarred Gillett and Cole Palmer? They made for a killer ­combination as Chelsea swerved embarrassment and treated Stamford Bridge to one of life’s rarities: a classic in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Gillett, a referee who always seems to be guessing when he makes key calls, was the villain as far as Leeds were concerned. They had just gone 2-0 up when Gillett altered the flow of the tie by pointing to the spot after Pep Chavarría made the most of slight contact from Daniel James. The subsequent conversion from Palmer was inevitable and from there so was the comeback from Chelsea, who rattled through four goals in 12 minutes before eventually reaching the last 16 by winning 6-3.

In the fullness of time Chelsea’s surrender against Brighton in April may be seen as the turning point. The humiliation accelerated Liam ­Rosenior’s demise and forced the Stamford Bridge hierarchy into a ­reckoning leading to the appointment of Xabi Alonso, a shift in ­transfer ­strategy, the birth of the JP Morgan front three and the end of ­Robert Sánchez’s time in goal.

For now, though, the argument that Emiliano Martínez is the final piece in the jigsaw seems a touch ­premature. With seven goals scored and five conceded while winning their first two league games, it is not hard to see where Chelsea need to improve in order to sustain a title challenge. They have to be savvier when ahead, and although the good has so far outweighed the bad Alonso could do with his side not dropping their guard when they have the ­opposition on the ropes.

• Pressure grows after defeat by Manchester United

• ‘People don’t want to hear me say how well we played’

Liam Rosenior admitted that Chelsea have a mountain to climb after a 1-0 defeat by Manchester United put another dent in their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

Matheus Cunha scored the only goal as United tightened their grip on third place by overcoming their defensive problems at Stamford Bridge, heaping the pressure on Rosenior after a dismal run.

A makeshift Manchester United defence did not even have to resort to hair pulls to keep out a goalshy Chelsea. The unfamiliar pairing of Ayden Heaven and Noussair Mazraoui grew into a tepid game after a shaky start, making the full-time boos inevitable. Stamford Bridge was an unhappy place again, the unrest in the stands growing as a fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League approached, and the only time the home fans stopped pining for the old Chelsea was when Mason Mount came on to help United protect their 1-0 lead.

Think back to Porto in May 2021. Back then, long before anyone in west London had heard of BlueCo, it was Mount who created the winner when Chelsea became kings of Europe for the second time. Five years on, though, this is a club that cannot even be sure that they will be in the Champions League next season.

After a season dominated by long throws, tortured set-piece routines and rigid football, a killer blend of artistry and firepower is threatening to deliver another domestic treble for Manchester City. They have stirred when it matters most, crushing Liverpool in the FA Cup last weekend, and have their gaze firmly fixed on wounded prey after closing the gap on Arsenal with an expert destruction of Chelsea at a flat Stamford Bridge.

Pep Guardiola’s sharks could smell the blood in the water after Arsenal’s stumble against Bournemouth. City were ferocious and unstoppable. They took this game away from a callow and careless Chelsea with a blistering surge at the start of the second half and, even if there are twists and turns to come, there is no doubt this emphatic 3-0 win has tilted momentum in the title race to Guardiola’s side.

Chelsea’s habit of squandering leads did not leave with Enzo Maresca. The lapses in concentration have piled up and there was another to add to the list after Stamford Bridge witnessed an inexplicable collapse against Leeds, who took another step towards staying up fighting back from 2-0 down to keep themselves six points above the bottom three.

The turnaround was not on the cards when Cole Palmer, who had earlier collected his first assist in the Premier League this season, extended Chelsea’s advantage by scoring from the spot for the third time in two games. By the end, though, Liam Rosenior was ­watching the prospect of an eighth win in 10 games slip away. The implosion was staggering. Lukas Nmecha and Noah Okafor had capitalised on dreadful defending to make it 2-2 and, while Chelsea rallied, their hopes of a late winner ended when Palmer produced a contender for miss of the season.

There are times when trying to make sense of Chelsea is a futile task. Lurching between extremes is their speciality. They were shambolic against struggling West Ham for 45 minutes, had Stamford Bridge ready to turn on Liam Rosenior at half-time and still found a way to mount a comeback so wild it left their opponents in a state of utter, uncontrollable rage at the end of an incomprehensible London derby.

Where to begin? With the end, perhaps, and Enzo Fernández running on to a cutback from João Pedro to make it 3-2 to Chelsea in the 92nd minute. It was some turnaround. João Pedro had made the difference after coming on at the start of the second half. The forward scored Chelsea’s first, heading home just before the hour, and was cool when he broke into the West Ham area when the game ran into added time. João Pedro had options. He could have shot and he could have crossed. Instead he threw West Ham by pulling the ball back to Fernández, who is beginning to resemble Frank Lampard with his knack of deciding games with late unnoticed runs from midfield.

The brief ripple of applause at full time said it all. This was a deeply unconvincing display from ­Chelsea, who took 78 agonising minutes to find a way past the might of the champions of Cyprus, and it was not a surprise that Stamford Bridge greeted victory with such a muted response.

The mood was one of relief. There was plenty of angst on a night when the home fans continued their protests against Chelsea’s ­owners. The football was too slow, too ­predictable, and it hardly seemed to register that Moisés Caicedo shattering Pafos FC’s defiance ensured that Liam ­Rosenior’s side will have a chance to secure direct qualification into the ­Champions League last 16 when they visit Napoli in their final game next week.

It’s damning that Chelsea, despite spending vast sums on their squad, are still reliant on such a skittish goalkeeper

Martín Zubimendi had as much time as he wanted against the team forever building for tomorrow. Taking a flick from Viktor Gyökeres in his stride, the Arsenal midfielder danced into the area, weighed up whether to shoot and thought better of it. Instead there was a sauntering move away from Andrey Santos, a feint to throw Wesley Fofana and then, only when Zubimendi had decided he was ready, was there the calm to beat Robert Sánchez and leave Chelsea with a mountain to climb in this Carabao Cup semi-final.

It was swaggering from Zubimendi. In that moment it was Arsenal demonstrating why they are so far ahead of this occasionally thrilling but often baffling Chelsea side, who have faint hope of a turnaround after battling to a defeat that was 3-2 going on 4-0. Mikel Arteta’s side had, after all, done the dirty stuff. The first goal came from a corner, the second from Sánchez’s error, but the third was different. It was silky from Arsenal, the ball pinging between Mikel Merino and Gyökeres before Zubimendi applied the graceful finishing touch, and a reminder that they are top of the Premier League because they perform both sides of the game.

It is fair to assume that Pep Guardiola has targeted Antoine Semenyo for more than his enormous long throws. Still, the Bournemouth winger’s missiles were a devastating weapon against a slipshod Chelsea defence. They led to insultingly simple goals for David Brooks and Justin Kluivert during a breathless first half and were enough to plunge Enzo Maresca deeper into trouble after another damaging result for the Italian’s erratic side.

There were jeers from the Stamford Bridge crowd when Maresca removed Cole Palmer with Chelsea chasing a winner during a one-sided second half. There was no chance of the dissenters giving a moment’s thought to the context around Palmer, whose load still needs careful management as he feels his way back from a groin injury. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” was the chant pouring down from the stands and, although Chelsea were the stronger side during the closing stages, there were more boos when this wild game drew to a close.

Unai Emery had to tear up the plan. Aston Villa had started this game in a compact 4-2-2-2 formation but they were desperate for much of the first hour. Their passing was lethargic, they had no width, they were 1-0 down to a dominant Chelsea and it seemed the story was going to centre on Emery’s decision not to start Ollie Watkins up front.

Yet few managers are as effective as Emery when it comes to altering the flow with a few smart tweaks. The Spaniard never stops plotting, never stops hunting for weaknesses in his opponents, and perhaps it was not a surprise when Villa’s tactical mastermind found a way to ensure that the travelling fans were belting out songs about winning the league at full time.

• Own goal and red card contribute to Blues’ 3-0 victory

• Brazilian hails ‘the most special moment of my career’

Estêvão Willian relished the biggest night of his short career after powering Chelsea to a 3-0 victory against Barcelona in the Champions League with a special solo goal.

The 18-year-old Brazilian struggled to make sense of his emotions after a special night at Stamford Bridge. Estêvão, who joined Chelsea from Palmeiras for £52m last summer, convincingly won his battle with Barca’s Lamine Yamal and stole the limelight when he put Enzo Maresca’s side 2-0 up early in the second half.