Man Utd 0-2 Roma at Half-Time: Carrick on the Brink

Manchester United are booed towards the tunnel trailing Roma 2-0 at half-time at Old Trafford, Matias Soule and a Donyell Malen penalty punishing another dreadful start and leaving Michael Carrick staring at a tenth game without a win.

A nightmare start, all over again

United knew Roma would test them down the flanks, and still Soule was left in acres of space on the right of the box on 11 minutes to collect Rodrigo Mora's pass and fire a wrong-footing near-post finish beyond Senne Lammens, as the live coverage on TNT Sports showed in brutal detail. It was the third goal United have conceded inside the first 15 minutes of a Champions League first half this season — no side has conceded more in that period, per Opta.

Six minutes later it got worse. Soule, unmarked again, drove another shot goalwards and Ayden Heaven blocked it with an outstretched arm. Penalty. Malen sent Lammens the wrong way on 18 minutes, and at 2-0 down inside a quarter of an hour, the mood inside Old Trafford turned mutinous. A minute later Malen should have made it three, only for his first touch to desert him clean through on goal.

Carrick had gone into the night already managing a lengthy injury list, but there was no mitigation for defending this open, this early, in a game of this size.

Tempers, protests and a damning verdict

The frustration spilled over on 20 minutes when Soule and Bruno Fernandes clashed near the byline and both went into the book. Roma lost Devyne Rensch to injury, with Emanuele Lulli replacing him and promptly being booked himself, while home fans threw green-and-yellow protest balloons onto the pitch as the half wore on — The Sun's live blog captured a support that has run out of patience.

Joe Cole's half-time assessment on TNT Sports was unsparing. "The whole club is a shambles," he said. "Something has got to give. Michael Carrick has held himself with such integrity and composure, but tonight they are at sixes and sevens. The players need to step up — they have let the manager and each other down."

United did flicker: Carlos Baleba curled one effort off target and snapped another over the bar, Leny Yoro made a vital interception to stop a third Roma goal on 40 minutes, and Fernandes arced a free-kick straight into the wall just before the break. But Roma, who have won only once away to English opposition in 21 trips and never in the Champions League proper, looked entirely comfortable.

So what happens next?

Defeat tonight stretches United's winless run to ten games in all competitions. United started the night only just inside the league-phase top 24 on goal difference, so a second-half collapse would leave their knockout hopes in serious danger with trips and home dates against Sporting CP, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich still to come.

The board's alternatives are already in the open — Nagelsmann is reported to be ready to talk — and another 45 minutes like the first will make the decision for them.

Beyond the Final Whistle: this is no longer a bad run, it is a team that has stopped functioning in the biggest moments of games. Carrick's dignity is not in question, but dignity does not defend the right-hand side, and unless United produce a comeback for the ages in the second half, this feels like the night his reign effectively ended.

Can United turn this around after the break, or is Carrick finished whatever happens in the second half? Tell us in the comments.