COMO, Italy — Manchester United crashed to a humiliating 4-1 Champions League defeat against Italian newcomers Como on Wednesday, setting an unwanted European record and placing manager Michael Carrick under severe scrutiny.
Playing in steady rain at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, the English giants conceded in the opening moments for the second straight European outing before being thoroughly outplayed by a club that was competing in Italy’s third tier as recently as 2021, according to Agence France-Presse.
Paz leads the charge
Former Real Madrid attacker Nico Paz starred for the hosts, opening the scoring just two minutes into the contest with a curling left-footed strike from the edge of the penalty box that beat goalkeeper Senne Lammens, AFP reported. That early strike made United the first team in UEFA history to concede within the opening two minutes of consecutive major European matches, following an opening-minute goal allowed to Atletico Madrid on Oct. 13, according to TNT Sports.
United, which entered the clash facing a severe injury crisis, tried to respond but struggled to generate clear chances. Harry Maguire directed a header off target in the 17th minute, while midfielder Andrey Santos picked up a yellow card attempting to halt a dangerous counterattack sparked by Paz.
Como, managed by former Spanish international Cesc Fabregas, doubled its lead four minutes into the second half when Anastasios Douvikas converted a cross supplied by Paz. The 22-year-old Argentine forward added his second goal of the evening in the 57th minute after intercepting a misplayed pass from Carlos Baleba. Defender Jacobo Ramon pushed the advantage to 4-0 with a 76th-minute header before Joshua Zirkzee scored a consolation goal for United in stoppage time, according to AFP.
Pressure mounts on Carrick
The result leaves United with just three points from its first three league phase matches in the Champions League, following an opening victory over Azerbaijani club Sabah and back-to-back losses away from home. Como moved to six points, bolstering its ambitions of advancing into the knockout rounds.
Carrick entered Wednesday’s match facing intense scrutiny over his team’s sluggish domestic campaign. Despite steering United to a third-place finish in the Premier League as interim manager last spring before earning the permanent job, his side has managed only two victories across all competitions this season, The Sporting News reported.
United currently sits 13th in the English Premier League, is already eliminated from the EFL Cup, and has failed to win any match across all competitions since Sept. 10. The defeat in Italy stretched the club’s winless slide to seven games, consisting of three losses and four draws.
The club has also been hampered by widespread absences. Carrick was forced to hand center back Matthijs de Ligt his first start after an absence of nearly 11 months due to injury, lining up with an inexperienced bench largely composed of academy players, according to The Peoples Person.
United now returns to domestic action seeking to stop its downward spiral, with Carrick’s standing as manager increasingly precarious as the club searches for answers to its mounting woes.
