LONDON — Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-1 in a chaotic match at Old Trafford yesterday to earn vital breathing space for beleaguered manager Ruben Amorim as Liverpool stayed perfect in the Premier League.

But Graham Potter’s future as West Ham boss appears bleak after a fourth defeat in five matches left the club firmly rooted in the relegation zone.

All eyes were on a rain-lashed Old Trafford for the early evening kick-off, with Amorim in desperate need of a win after a terrible start to the season.

The home side were given a huge helping hand when Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off in the fifth minute of a stormy encounter.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made frantic personnel changes to compensate for the loss of Sanchez but the match immediately became an exercise in attack versus defence.

United captain Bruno Fernandes made the breakthrough in the 14th minute, prodding home from close range in his 200th Premier League game.

Casemiro doubled the lead before the Brazilian midfielder was shown a second yellow card on the stroke of half-time for tugging back Andrey Santos.

Trevoh Chalobah brought Chelsea back into the match with a bullet header 10 minutes from time.

But United survived some nervy moments to record just their second win of the season, lifting them into ninth place as Chelsea suffered their first league loss this term.

“Every win especially in this moment is important, against a great opponent,” Amorim said.

“We started the game in the right way, really aggressive. The red card helped us dominate the game but we were already there.

“We scored two goals and then we tried to complicate our game again. It’s always complicated with us. It should have been different, this game.”