Manchester United were beaten 4-1 by Como in a Champions League match on Wednesday 21 October 2026 at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium in Como, Italy. The heavy defeat has placed manager Michael Carrick's future in doubt, with captain Bruno Fernandes and Carrick both offering public views afterwards on why United were so badly beaten by a side playing only its third ever Champions League game.
Nico Paz scored inside two minutes, firing into the top corner after Harry Maguire allowed him too much room. United thus became the first English club in Champions League history to concede inside the first two minutes of back-to-back matches, following last week's loss to Atlético Madrid. Paz later added his second after catching Carlos Baleba in possession, while Anastasios Douvikas and Jacobo Ramón also scored for the hosts.
Douvikas struck inside four minutes of the second half, getting away from Matthijs de Ligt after a pass from Paz. It was De Ligt's first start in 325 days following back problems. Ramón added the fourth goal, before Joshua Zirkzee scored a consolation for United in stoppage time. Fernandes was substituted after 67 minutes, and Carrick apologised to the travelling United supporters at the final whistle.
Speaking afterwards, Fernandes pointed towards the coaching staff. He said: "It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind". He added: "That's on the manager and on the staff to see it, it's not on me". Carrick then gave his own account of the second half, saying: "We half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that".
Carrick also described his mood after the match. "I'm really angry, to be honest," he said. On his own position he said: "I've not given my own position any thought." Asked directly about his future, he replied: "It's not about me". Before the game, he had said he felt the backing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, but that the team had to win games.
The numbers make difficult reading for United. They are winless in seven games across all competitions, and this was their fifth defeat in 11 games this season. It was only the sixth loss by three or more goals in the club's Champions League history, and the first since April 2019 against Barcelona. United drew at Leeds on Sunday, a game Carrick had called a "fresh start". Fernandes has had one goal involvement in his past nine appearances.
Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim in January, after Amorim was sacked following a fallout with Wilcox, having lasted 14 months. Carrick signed a two-year contract in May after guiding United to third in the Premier League. Last week Lisandro Martínez criticised the club's hierarchy over summer recruitment. United host Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday (25 October), and Wilcox, Berrada and Ratcliffe may discuss Carrick's future before that game.
