Manchester United were beaten 4-1 by Como at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on the night of 21 October (European time) in the third round of the Champions League league phase. Nico Paz scored twice and set up Tasos Douvikas, centre-back Jacobo Ramón headed a fourth, and Joshua Zirkzee's stoppage-time goal was the only reply. According to Sky Sports and VnExpress, Michael Carrick's side are now without a win in seven matches in all competitions.
How Como took the game apart
Paz curled in the opener in the second minute. The Guardian and Sky Sports both note that United became the first English team to concede inside two minutes in consecutive major European matches, following last week's 2-0 defeat at Atlético Madrid. VnExpress reports that the visitors did not manage a shot on target before half-time.
Carrick sent on Amad Diallo and Carlos Baleba for Matheus Cunha and Andrey Santos at the break, but four minutes into the second half Paz threaded a pass for Douvikas, who ran away from Matthijs de Ligt to score. De Ligt was playing for the first time in 325 days after a back injury. On 57 minutes Paz dispossessed Baleba and finished past Senne Lammens for 3-0, and Ramón headed in Kaiki Bruno's cross on 76. Zirkzee converted Amad's cross in the first minute of stoppage time.
Sky Sports says Como's 594 completed passes were the most by a team against United in a Champions League match since Barcelona in April 2019. BongdaPlus, citing Opta, reports that Paz, at 22 years and 43 days, is the youngest player to score and assist in a Champions League game against United since CSKA Moscow's Alan Dzagoev in November 2009.
Captain and manager at odds
Speaking to TNT Sports, captain Bruno Fernandes said the staff had decided not to press man-to-man, leaving space behind and waiting to win the ball back, and argued that giving teams like Como so much of the ball only makes them more confident, VnExpress and The Guardian report. Asked whether that was a tactical mistake, he said it was for the coaches to judge. Carrick's answer at his press conference, quoted by The Guardian, was brief: "We actually half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that."
Carrick walked over to the travelling fans at full time and raised his hands in apology. "I'm really angry but you've got to move on and deal with what's next," he told Sky Sports.
Background: a week of turmoil
Before the trip, Erik ten Hag, United manager from April 2022 to October 2024, told The Athletic that the club's leadership "are continuing the toxic culture" by giving power to players, The Guardian reported. Carrick, interim manager from January and appointed permanently in May, replied on 20 October that he had seen no toxicity, felt backed by the board and needed no reassurance, while accepting that United must start winning. A week earlier defender Lisandro Martínez had publicly criticised director of football Jason Wilcox after the Atlético loss, then apologised.
United were without nine players in Como, according to The Guardian, and Sky Sports notes they have three points from three league-phase games. Sky adds that this is their first seven-game winless run since a sequence of eight between November and December 2015.
What comes next
United host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday 25 October. The Guardian calls whether Carrick will still be in charge for that game "the searing question". Read our preview of Como vs Manchester United, the Ten Hag claims about Ronaldo and more on our European football page.