Como 4-1 Man Utd: battered, and Bruno blames the staff

Como 4-1 Man Utd, and it was 4-0 before Joshua Zirkzee scored in stoppage time. Nico Paz scored inside two minutes and again on 57 minutes, Anastasios Douvikas got the second just after half-time and Jacobo Ramón headed the fourth on 76 minutes, according to the match ratings and the live coverage. A club playing its third ever Champions League game took us apart.

I said Como 2-1 and asked to be proved wrong. Proved wrong, all right. Just not the way I meant.

That's three points from three games in the league phase. One win, against Sabah, and two defeats in which we've been behind inside two minutes both times. Five games left, and the top 24 is now the target, not the top eight. And it's seven without a win in all competitions, after the run reached six at Leeds.

Read more: Leeds 1-1 Man Utd: no striker and no answer after the break

1. Behind in two minutes. Again.

At Atlético we were behind after a minute. Here Harry Maguire was caught flat-footed by a cut-back and Paz curled one past Senne Lammens in the second minute. Two away games in Europe, two goals conceded before most people had sat down.

That's not bad luck. That's a team that isn't ready when the whistle goes, and getting a side ready to start a game is the most basic job a coaching staff has. Even Bruno Fernandes admitted afterwards that it's happened before.

2. The captain has just pointed at the dugout

This is the bit that'll be talked about for days. After the game Bruno said it was "a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man", which left space behind, and that "sometimes you have to be more brave under pressure". Asked if he was blaming Carrick, he said that was for the manager and the staff to answer, not him.

He's not wrong about the plan. Paz was given time to turn all night, which is exactly what the preview warned about. But Bruno doesn't get to stand outside this. He played as a false nine, did next to nothing there, and was hooked for Zirkzee midway through the second half. A captain who loses 4-1 and then hangs the staff out on telly is a dressing room telling you how it feels about the manager. A week after Lisandro Martínez went after Jason Wilcox, that's two senior players saying the problem is above them.

3. Carrick's choices, and his apology

Carrick picked Bruno up front with Zirkzee, our only fit striker, on the bench. Zirkzee came on and scored. Andrey Santos was booked for a lunge on Paz and taken off at half-time with Matheus Cunha, Carlos Baleba and Amad Diallo coming on. On 57 minutes Baleba gave the ball away and Paz made it 3-0. The fix made it worse.

Afterwards Carrick said it was "unacceptable", that it "stops with me", and that he cares "an unbelievable amount about the supporters". He went to the away end to apologise, and the Manchester Evening News's Tyrone Marshall reported he then went straight down the tunnel without going to a single player.

Then the line we've heard before: it's "not about me". He said the same before Leeds. It is about him now. The board are reported to be backing him; after tonight, that's their call to defend, not ours. Bournemouth at home on Sunday is the last game he gets on credit, and he's used most of it.

Over on r/reddevils the post-match thread was about what you'd expect. One fan put it in a line: "We've literally been watching the same match for 8 years." Another reckoned "one thing Carrick did right, is take Bruno off". Fair, but he's the one who put him up front in the first place.

Player ratings

• Senne Lammens 5.5: a couple of saves, none of the four his fault. The only starter who can look anyone in the eye.
• Diogo Dalot 4: one early shot wide, then beaten down his side most of the night and moved at the break.
• Matthijs de Ligt 4: first game in 11 months and it showed. Lost Douvikas for the second.
• Harry Maguire 3: caught flat-footed for the opener and nowhere near Paz. Seventh game without a win and he's been in the middle of most of it.
• Noussair Mazraoui 4: in for the banned Yoro and never comfortable in or out of possession.
• Andrey Santos 3.5: booked for a desperate lunge on Paz and hooked at half-time. Not ready for this.
• Youri Tielemans 3: ninety minutes and I can't name one thing he did. Somehow stayed on.
• Mason Mount 3.5: run over in midfield all night and stayed on to watch it happen.
• Matheus Cunha 4: worked, achieved nowt, off at half-time.
• Bruno Fernandes 3: no use as a false nine, subbed, then blamed the staff. Not a captain's night.
• Bryan Mbeumo 4: not a single real chance. Off with five minutes left.
• Carlos Baleba (sub) 2.5: on at half-time to fix the midfield, gave the ball away for the third.
• Amad Diallo (sub) 6.5: the only one who ran at them. Set up the goal.
• Joshua Zirkzee (sub) 6: came on and scored, which is more than the false nine managed. Should have started.
• Harry Amass (sub) 5: on for De Ligt with the game long gone.
• Shea Lacey (sub) 5: five minutes, nothing to judge.

Our prediction is settled on the scorecard: right result, wrong by two goals.

Dan's Verdict: Como were better than us in every area of the pitch, and the captain has just told the world the plan was wrong. Carrick can apologise to the away end all he likes. If Bournemouth goes like this, there's nothing left for him to apologise for.