Oct 29 (Reuters) - Manchester United's Michael Carrick may have been thrown a managerial lifeline despite his team languishing a point above the relegation zone but Saturday's Premier League visit to Chelsea may be his last chance to arrest an alarming slump.
Carrick's side are on an eight-match winless streak in all competitions as he battles player unrest that led him to drop captain Bruno Fernandes for the 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth.
What Carrick called a "pure football" decision backfired as United imploded and tumbled to 16th, with the forlorn Fernandes watching from the bench -- a defeat that piled more pressure on Carrick even as fans cheered the manager while booing the squad.
Fernandes was benched after criticising United's tactics following a 4-1 Champions League thrashing by Como, leaving Carrick facing a dilemma ahead of the clash with fifth-placed Chelsea, who lost at home to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Should he continue to sideline his captain or recall his most creative player after United badly missed Fernandes' influence against Bournemouth? The loss left United with seven points from eight matches, a point above the relegation zone.
Despite sweeping England's Player of the Year honours last season, Fernandes has struggled for form in this campaign, yet United appeared even more toothless without the Portugal international orchestrating play from midfield on Sunday.
"It was a decision based on what we felt was right for the game. That's it," Carrick told a press conference on Thursday regarding the decision to leave Fernandes on the bench.
"Bruno is fully committed to this football club and there are absolutely no issues. We move forward, make decisions as we go and focus on Saturday's game."
He said Fernandes remains captain after clear-the-air talks.
"My responsibility is to the players ... Of course we've spoken. We have meetings. The boys are hungry. We're hurting because we haven't won enough football games. But there is an intensity, an edge, a hunger to do better," Carrick added.
TOP-FOUR CLASHES
The weekend's other leading fixtures pit the top four teams against each other.
Leaders Manchester City will look to shake off their first league defeat of the season when they host third-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, while champions Arsenal - still smarting from a League Cup exit to a fourth-tier side - visit Liverpool.
Enzo Maresca's City have pressed on with business as usual despite an independent commission finding the club guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules, which has kept the debate simmering over the legitimacy of their previous titles.
City have always denied wrongdoing and appealed, with sanctions yet to be announced, and will be focused on the task in hand on Saturday as they look to bounce back from a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa that ended their perfect league start.
Arsenal, who are level on 21 points with City and five above Brighton, face a different kind of hangover on Sunday as they play fourth-placed Liverpool after being dumped out of the League Cup on penalties by Fleetwood Town in the fourth round.
It was one of the biggest upsets in English football in decades, leaving manager Mikel Arteta to rue his side's lack of cutting edge against a team standing 18th in League Two.
While the Spaniard said he could not fault his players' efforts, he will be concerned about the dearth of goals this season compared to their title rivals. Arsenal have scored 13 in the Premier League compared to City's 20 and Brighton's 23.
"We have a massive responsibility to carry this badge in the best possible way," Arteta said after the Fleetwood defeat.
"It had nothing to do with effort or application or determination to win it, but we lack other things to create a much bigger margin with what we produce, they really should have been shown in the scoreline," he added.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
