Como 4-1 Man Utd: Carrick under huge pressure after Champions League humiliation

Manchester United endured one of the most humiliating nights in their modern European history as Cesc Fàbregas’s Como tore them apart 4-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, heaping enormous pressure on under-fire head coach Michael Carrick.

Nico Paz was the architect of the demolition, scoring twice and providing an assist in a scintillating display that left the three-time European champions chasing shadows on a wet and miserable evening by Lake Como. Anastasios Douvikas and Jacobo Ramón completed the scoring for the hosts, with Joshua Zirkzee’s stoppage-time consolation doing little to ease the pain for the travelling support.

The warning signs were there from the outset. Just as they had done against Atletico Madrid eight days earlier, United fell behind inside the opening two minutes. Paz collected the ball on the edge of the area, shifted onto his left foot and curled an unstoppable effort beyond Senne Lammens. It was a moment of pure quality that set the tone for the evening.

Carrick’s side somehow reached half-time only one goal down, but the second half brought no respite. Four minutes after the restart, Paz threaded a precise through-ball to Douvikas, who finished calmly to make it 2-0. The Argentine midfielder was not finished. In the 57th minute he pounced on a loose pass from substitute Carlos Baleba, drove forward and slotted home his second of the night.

By the time Ramón powered home a header from Kaiki’s inviting cross on 76 minutes, large sections of the United end had already emptied. The Red Devils looked a broken side, their seven-match winless run stretching across all competitions and their Champions League campaign in danger of unravelling after just three matches.

Zirkzee’s late strike, converting Amad Diallo’s cross, was little more than a footnote. When United last lifted the European Cup in 2008, Como were toiling in Serie D. On this evidence the two clubs are heading in very different directions. Fàbregas’s team, in their maiden Champions League campaign, now sit on six points after two home wins. Carrick’s men remain on three, with questions mounting over the manager’s future.

The performance was abject from start to finish. Expensive summer signings failed to impose themselves, the defence was repeatedly sliced open and the midfield offered little resistance. Carrick later apologised to the fans who had made the trip, describing the display as “unacceptable.” For a club of Manchester United’s stature, nights like this are becoming painfully familiar.