STAMFORD BRIDGE — Chelsea supporters marched on Stamford Bridge in protest against the club's ownership before their Premier League match against Manchester United, which the visitors won 1-0. Chants of "we want our Chelsea back" began during the pre-match protest and spread to the stands during the second half.

Supporters marched from The Wolfpack Inn pub to the stadium before kick-off, with turnout rising from about 200 before the Brentford match to more than 500. Ultras from Strasbourg, a Chelsea partner club, joined the demonstration. Flares and banners were displayed, with chants directed at the owners and in support of former owner Roman Abramovich. Boos were heard at full-time.

Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of Chelsea in 2022. Under the terms of that agreement, the current ownership group cannot sell the club until at least 2032. Chelsea have spent about £1.5bn on signings under the current ownership and recouped approximately £750m in player sales. The club announced Premier League record pre-tax losses in its latest accounts and remain under financial scrutiny from UEFA, having faced fines for breaching its regulations.

The defeat was Chelsea's fourth consecutive Premier League loss without scoring, the joint-longest goalless league run at the club since November 1912. Chelsea have gone almost six and a half hours without a league goal. The result left them four points behind the fifth-place team, having played one more match, and four points behind Liverpool, who had a game in hand. Chelsea had also lost to Manchester City despite a free midweek for preparation.

When Liam Rosenior took charge, Chelsea were eighth in the table and fourth in the Premier League form rankings. They have since dropped to ninth and will fall further once all teams have played 33 matches.

Owner Behdad Eghbali addressed the team's direction in remarks supporting the head coach. "I think we're behind Liam. Of course, it's a results business, but we think he can be successful long term," Eghbali said. "We recognise we need balance. You tweak a model, you improve and you learn from mistakes," he said. Eghbali also said: "We have a strong core, but we need to add experience to take the team to the next level and achieve consistency. That is not lost on us."

Cole Palmer said: "If we're not in the Champions League, everything changes." Head coach Rosenior said of the Champions League question: "The honest answer is I don't know. We're still fighting and we'll address that situation at the end of the season, whatever the situation is."