Carrick Expects Man Utd Stay Despite Chelsea Defeat

Premier League - Chelsea v Manchester United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - October 31, 2026 Manchester United manager Michael Carrick reacts after Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo misses a chance to score. (Reuters)

15:54-31 October 2026 AD ـ 20 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Michael Carrick said he expects to remain in charge of Manchester United for Tuesday's Champions League visit of Roma despite a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea that stretched the club's winless run to nine matches.

Carrick was given a stay of execution by the United hierarchy after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth last weekend when many expected the axe to fall on the former England midfielder.

United were much improved during the first half at Stamford Bridge but paid for a lack of ruthlessness as the visitors wasted a number of chances to take the lead.

Morgan Rogers strolled through the heart of the United defense to open the scoring early in the second half.

Lisandro Martinez was then shown two quick yellow cards and conceded a penalty, converted by Cole Palmer, to kill off any hope of a United fightback.

"Yes," Carrick told TNT Sports when asked if he expected to remain in charge for the Roma match.

"We've got to move forward. We've got to take the things that we felt worked for us today and take a bit of belief and the confidence from that and a lot of the good things, especially in the first half."

United's longest winless run for 38 years leaves them just one point above the Premier League relegation zone and at risk of dropping into the bottom three by the end of the weekend.

"From being in such a good place in the first half, the two halves of football couldn't probably be more further apart in some ways," added Carrick.

"I think the way they went about it and played, the quality of football and the way we played in the first half, definitely gives encouragement. We've got to take that."

Two defeats in their first three Champions League games have left United 20th in the 36-team table and at risk of missing out on the knockout stages.

China State TV Does Not Air First La Liga Games Since Mbappe Furore

The logo of Spain's La Liga football association stands on top of its headquarters in Madrid on December 20, 2022. (AFP)

16:06-31 October 2026 AD ـ 20 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

16:05-31 October 2026 AD ـ 20 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

16:06-31 October 2026 AD ـ 20 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

16:05-31 October 2026 AD ـ 20 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

China State TV Does Not Air First La Liga Games Since Mbappe Furore

The logo of Spain's La Liga football association stands on top of its headquarters in Madrid on December 20, 2022. (AFP)

Chinese state television did not air on Saturday the first La Liga games since Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe caused anger with a joke about the country's former leader Mao Zedong.

It was not immediately clear whether state broadcaster CCTV had scheduled screenings of the matches and then cancelled them, or whether they were not scheduled in the first place.

A viral video in recent days showed Mbappe referring to Mao as a "dictator", prompting the body overseeing CCTV to say it would halt broadcasts of the top Spanish league.

Mbappe, Real and La Liga later all said sorry for his remarks, and China's foreign ministry said it took the player's apology "seriously".

But state broadcaster CCTV's sport channels still chose not to show Villarreal's 1-0 defeat to Espanyol, nor Atletico Madrid's win against Levante, on Saturday.

Three more games are due to take place overnight in China, with Barcelona, who have a strong following there, also in action.

Asked by AFP before the weekend, La Liga said that Chinese television had previously shown all games live, without specifying which platforms hosted the broadcasts.

AFP journalists did find live broadcasts of the first two matches on Migu, a digital streaming service owned by the state-owned China Mobile telecom network.

China Media Group (CMG), which oversees CCTV, had said it had moved on Monday to suspend La Liga broadcasts, adding that apologies from La Liga, Mbappe and Real Madrid were "an absolute prerequisite" for moving past the furore.

The viral video showed Mbappe saying that the funniest internet meme about him he had seen was of his face photo-shopped onto that of "some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator".

This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao.

Mbappe later apologized for his "ill-judged" comments, La Liga said it "deeply" regretted them, and Real followed suit.

CCTV's sports website later reported that CMG had acknowledged the apologies, but it remains unclear whether talks to defuse the situation have begun.

China is a huge market for European football, with CCTV also carrying matches from the Premier League as well as the German, French and Italian top flights.

Real, who are hugely popular in the country, are due to play Racing Santander on Sunday.

Real coach Jose Mourinho said on Saturday that the club had "done our part" to put the controversy behind them.

It is taboo in China to crack jokes about Mao, who died in 1976.

Major Chinese brands cancelled sponsorship deals with Mbappe after his comments.

Various overseas sports leagues and players have found themselves in hot water for comments on topics that are politically sensitive to China.

China effectively cut ties with the NBA for several years from 2019 after then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters.

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