'It's not impossible' - Could Manchester United be relegated from the Premier League after latest defeat?

The Red Devils have just seven points from their first nine matches and have gone seven games without a win in the Premier League.

They were on top in an entertaining first half at Chelsea, but slumped to another loss after Morgan Rogers' solo goal was followed by a moment of madness from Lisandro Martinez, who conceded a penalty and got sent off for a foul on Wesley Fofana.

United found themselves only just above the relegation zone at full-time, but is Championship football next season a genuine concern?

"It's not impossible," former Chelsea midfielder Cole said on TNT Sports. "I don't think they'll get relegated. I still feel there's a mid-table team there.

"This is a team that finished in a Champions League place last year, three or four players different, and they've added, but football's football."

Ex-United midfielder Owen Hargreaves suggested positive results are needed quickly to avoid a relegation battle.

"They're not even a mid-table team right now, they're 17th," he said. "If you look at the fixtures they've got next in the Premier League: Villa, Liverpool, Brentford, Newcastle away. The fixture list has actually been kind to them to start the season, now it's going to get harder.

"They're going to have to find something. When Michael Carrick took over, they had Man City and Arsenal and everyone thought, 'oh, they're in trouble', but they found something and got big results and performances.

"They've got big fixtures coming up and need a result. Those big moments are not going their way."

The latest disappointment piled more pressure on manager Michael Carrick, who insisted in his post-match interview that he expected to be in charge for Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash with AS Roma.

Hargreaves said United's players now need to begin taking responsibility.

"If you look at his body of work last year, he [Carrick] was the answer," Hargreaves added. "Now you see [the table], with Coventry scoring United are in the bottom three. I can't even believe I've uttered those words, but the fact of the matter is this is where they currently are, and it's because they're not winning games.

"Nine games in, not one person in the world would've said United would be in a relegation battle. They need to find a way to fix this. Everybody's accountable - players, Michael Carrick, the club - but ultimately the game is decided on the pitch.

"You can talk about owners and transfers and managers and tactics - players need to win their battles in the big moments. Today they could've been 3-0 up but didn't take the big moments, and lost the game in the second half comfortably."

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