Michael Carrick dropped out-of-sorts Lisandro Martinez to the bench for Manchester United’s key Champions League match against Roma.
The Red Devils have failed to win in all competitions since opening their European campaign with a 4-0 triumph against minnows Sabah in September.
United’s winless run extended to a ninth match with Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League loss at Chelsea, where Martinez capped a poor performance by needlessly giving away a penalty and being sent off.
The outspoken centre-back was replaced in the starting line-up three days later by Ayden Heaven as under-fire Carrick tries to breathe life into their wretched campaign against Roma.
Your United team for tonight's #UCL clash 👊 pic.twitter.com/TD9F6RjeAB
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 3, 2026
Martinez had retained his starting role despite being fined for publicly calling out the United hierarchy following last month’s Champions League loss at Atletico Madrid.
United followed that with a calamitous 4-1 defeat at Champions League upstarts Como, where Bruno Fernandes’ comments questioning Carrick’s approach saw him stay on the bench against Bournemouth.
As well as Heaven replacing Martinez on Tuesday, Kobbie Mainoo started in place of Andrey Santos against Gian Piero Gasperini’s Giallorossi.
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