Carrick drops Martinez for Roma after Chelsea red card and penalty

Lisandro Martinez has been left out of Michael Carrick's Manchester United starting line-up for the Champions League meeting with Roma at Old Trafford, according to Independent Sport.

Ayden Heaven comes into the side in Martinez's place, while Kobbie Mainoo has been brought into midfield for the visit of Gian Piero Gasperini's Giallorossi.

The decision follows a torrid afternoon for the Argentinian at Stamford Bridge, where he conceded a penalty and was sent off in a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.

Morgan Rogers opened the scoring for Chelsea before Martinez was shown a red card midway through the second half, having already been booked for raising an elbow into Wesley Fofana at a corner, Metro Football reported. Cole Palmer then converted the penalty that settled the contest.

Wayne Rooney was among those to criticise Martinez's part in the opening goal, with Rogers driving through United's midfield and defence as Andrey Santos, Harry Maguire and the centre-back all failed to stop his run. Rooney said: "The first goal for me was a killer for everyone."

Despite the sending-off, Martinez remained eligible for Tuesday's European tie but has not been picked by Carrick, whose side have now gone nine matches without a win in all competitions.

United's last victory came in their Champions League opener in September, a 4-0 win over Sabah, and Yahoo Sports reported that the Premier League club are now hovering just above the relegation zone.

Martinez had kept his place in the team even after being fined for publicly criticising the United hierarchy following last month's Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid, a result that preceded a 4-1 loss away to Como.

After that defeat in Italy, Bruno Fernandes questioned Carrick's approach, and the midfielder found himself dropped to the bench for the following game against Bournemouth.

Carrick's own position has come under renewed scrutiny since the Chelsea defeat. Yahoo Sports, citing Standard Sport, reported that the United hierarchy had already held crisis talks after the 3-0 loss to Bournemouth, when chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox took part in discussions held at Carrington.

Standard Sport's reporting, relayed by Yahoo Sports, suggested many had expected Carrick to be dismissed at that point, though the club opted to keep him in charge.

United now face Roma at Old Trafford in the Champions League looking to end a run that has left the manager fighting to save his job and the team searching for its first win since the opening weeks of the European campaign.