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Manchester United one place outside EPL bottom three as Coventry City climb with 3-1 win against Sunderland.

Joint record Premier League winners Manchester United were plunged to the brink of the relegation zone by their defeat at Chelsea followed by Coventry City’s win against Sunderland.

Ten-man United were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the early kickoff in the English top flight, leaving them on their first nine-match winless run since 1986. The Red Devils have already made their worst start to a league season in 40 years.

Despite an improved display in the first-half, in which recalled captain Bruno Fernandes spurned one of many key chances, United were beaten by a brilliant solo goal by Morgan Rogers and a penalty converted by Cole Palmer.

Lisandro Martinez was shown a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Wesley Fofana in an aerial duel from a corner.

United’s day was about to get worse.

Coventry City’s 3-1 home win against Sunderland saw them leapfrog the fallen giants, leaving United just one point and one place outside the relegation zone.

There’s a chance the 20-time English champions, who have won only once in nine league games, could be in the bottom three by the end of Matchweek 9 – a desperate situation for a club widely regarded as the biggest in the country.

Man United’s only two victories from 13 matches in all competitions this season were against promoted Ipswich in the Premier League and tournament newcomer Sabah in the Champions League.

United’s next match is at home to Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday with yet more doubts on whether Carrick will still be in charge.

“I think the mentality was there right from the first minute,” United forward Bryan Mbeumo said. “We still trust everyone.

“Maybe today we just missed some chances. We could have been up early in the game, but that’s a positive to take out of this game.”

Only Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 defeat at Brentford ensured United did not drop into the bottom three.

The pressure regardless is piling onto Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, who is only in his first full season in charge.

The former midfielder remains in defiant mood.

“The two halves of football couldn’t probably be further apart,” said Carrick, who added he expects to be in charge for Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Roma.

“We looked in a good place going into half-time and then found a way of unravelling it second half.”

A point for Crystal Palace in the last Premier League game of the day at Tottenham will see United fall into the bottom three.

Coventry backed up their victory at Nottingham Forest before the international break, scoring four goals in the top flight for the first time since a 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in May 2000.

Those around the Sky Blues’ training ground at Ryton feel that, if they are competitive over the next seven games, they will have a platform for survival.

A trip to Tottenham and the visit of Fulham – both winless – come next, with games against Sunderland, Everton, Crystal Palace, Leeds and Ipswich to take them into December.

“It’s big and we have to tap into that in a good way, in a humble way,” said Lampard, whose side are now 14th.

“We have to be excited and I’m seeing players in my eyes that are developing quite quickly.

“A lot of players had low Premier League minutes, or zero Premier League minutes – Jack Rudoni, [Brandon] Thomas Asante, [Ephron] Mason-Clark, a lot of them.

“So is it human nature in the first few games we’ve had two top teams in the league (Arsenal and Manchester City) and we’ve had Brighton and we’ve gone: ‘hmm, it’s not easy here’.

“This [win] gives good confidence, so it’s the balance of confidence against overconfidence. But it’s great when you have a template of feeling when you get a result of that level.”

It can be a defining six weeks for Lampard’s men after a resounding, if not perfect, win against Newcastle.

Coventry’s previous home games had seen them fall to a 1-0 defeat by fellow promoted side Hull before a 5-0 thumping by Brighton.

Sandwiched in the middle was a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup, meaning it was imperative they found form at the CBS Arena.

“We’re going to be a relative underdog in pretty much every game,” added Lampard. “So we have to maximise everything and be on the limit and I thought we were on the limit in loads of ways.

“They need to keep their feet on the ground because the next one’s tough and the one after that will be tough.

“But we look like a team that [will make it] hard for teams to come here. That’s the feeling we haven’t quite had in our first CBS games this season.”