In brief
Paz scored in the 2nd minute, his first Champions League goal, and again in the 57th minute, and he set up Douvikas for the 49th-minute goal in the 4-1 win on Wednesday, 21 October.
Roma (4-0 against Slovan Bratislava) and Napoli (4-3 against Bodo/Glimt) won on Tuesday, 20 October, and Inter beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 on Wednesday, 21 October, despite Alessandro Bastoni's second yellow card.
Captain Bruno Fernandes criticised Michael Carrick's tactical decisions after the 4-1 defeat and said the club focuses too much on its past, while Carrick said he disagrees with him.
BBC sources say Carrick is expected in charge for Sunday, 25 October, against Bournemouth, while United have begun identifying replacements, including Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Julian Naglesmann.
- 57th minuteNico Paz scores Como's third goal
- 75th minuteA Como header makes it 4-0
- 91st minuteZirkzee scores for United, making it 4-1
Como's Wednesday night
Como beat Manchester United 4-1 at home in the Champions League on Wednesday, 21 October, and Argentine playmaker Nico Paz was the standout. He scored in the second minute with a left-footed strike, his first Champions League goal, and later set up Douvikas for Como's second goal at 49 minutes. Paz added a goal of his own in the 57th minute, and a header in the 75th minute made it 4-0. Zirkzee pulled one back for United in the 91st minute. According to ANSA, the win lifted Como to ninth place with six points from three matches.
Italian clubs bounce back
Italian clubs had all lost their previous Champions League matches and returned with wins. Roma beat Slovan Bratislava 4-0 and Napoli beat Bodo/Glimt 4-3 at home, both on Tuesday, 20 October. Inter Milan were reduced to ten men after Alessandro Bastoni received a second yellow card, yet they beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at the San Siro on Wednesday, 21 October, with a goal from Carlos Augusto. Inter are 20th with three points, Napoli are 22nd with three, and Roma are 15th with four. The chart below sets out the points ANSA reported for the four clubs.
- Como
- 6 points
- Roma
- 4 points
- Inter
- 3 points
- Napoli
- 3 points
Data from the article text
Fernandes and Carrick
United sit 20th in the Champions League table after three rounds, have gone seven games without a win in all competitions, and are 13th in the Premier League. Captain Bruno Fernandes went further after the defeat, criticising Michael Carrick's tactical decisions and saying the club's glory days are long gone. Carrick responded with a pointed rebuttal and had earlier held up his hands in apology to the few travelling supporters left at the end. Jamie Carragher called Fernandes's comments 'disgraceful', but the captain doubled down in an interview with Sky.
“Everyone at the club has to understand that it's not the same anymore, we're not in the past anymore and we have to look to the future.”
Carrick rejected the criticism of his tactics in direct terms when the rebuttal was put to him.
“If you don't run, and you don't run forward, and you don't run back, you aren't going to win.”
Carrick's position
BBC sources say Carrick is expected to remain in charge for Sunday, 25 October, when United host Bournemouth, and that he has not been told of any imminent change. United have nonetheless begun identifying possible replacements, and Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Julian Naglesmann are understood to be interested in the job. Howe is available and open to a return to management, while Conte and Naglesmann are also out of work. Some senior figures at the club believe frequent managerial changes have failed to halt United's decline, while others point to the progress Carrick's squad made last season. The players have been given Thursday, 22 October off, and United have not yet confirmed arrangements for a news conference on Friday, 23 October.