The 1-4 defeat to Como has added to Manchester United ’s concerns, with the result once again causing a senior player to speak out after the match. It follows Lisandro Martinez’s criticism after the loss to Atletico Madrid. Bruno Fernandes pointed to Michael Carrick’s coaching staff and their tactics after the defeat to Como While Martinez took aim at the club’s sporting director over recruitment.
It was the second game in a row where Manchester United conceded a goal inside two minutes in the UCL. They were caught off guard in the first minute against Atletico, while Como scored in the second with Nico Paz breaching the defence. Responding to Fernandes’s criticism, Carrick defended the tactical approach but pointed to United’s lack of effort off the ball as a bigger problem. “Whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win.
The United manager said his side tried to press man-to-man in the second half but stressed no tactical setup would work without players tracking back. “We half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that,” Carrick told TNT Sports. “I’ll definitely look at what we’ve done [as a coaching staff] or if it’s the motivation and the intention and the purpose and the intensity of a game of football you have to bring,” he said.
“We didn’t bring that today.
After the dismal performance, Manchester United are now winless in seven consecutive games across all competitions for the first time since an eight-match run between November and December 2015.
“It’s a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind and try to get the ball in the first moment, to wait for them, to give them the ball,” Fernandes told TNT Sports after the match. “That’s on the manager and on the staff to see it, it’s not on me,” said Fernandes.
