Cesc Fabregas has admitted to telling his Como team to “slow down” during their thrashing of Michael Carrick’s Manchester United in the Champions League.
Como led 4-0 after 76 minutes in Naples after a sublime double from Nico Paz and efforts from Anastasios Douvikas and Jacobo Ramon punished a woeful display from the visitors.
But Fabregas revealed he regretted ordering his players to take their foot off the gas, with Joshua Zirkzee then scoring a late consolation for Carrick’s beleaguered team.
It remained United’s joint-heaviest Champions League defeat, which placed further pressure on Carrick amid a seven-game winless run in all competitions.
“I believe that tactically speaking the team played a rather good game,” said Fabregas, who led Como to the club’s first ever Champions League qualification last season.
“I regret maybe the last 10 minutes when I was the one telling the team to slow down the pace because there was another game and maybe with a 4-0 lead they could have managed something.
“I told Tasos Douvikas not to run anymore, to stay in the middle and maybe that is what I regret, because I’m the first one who always pushes the fight until the end. That [Zirkzee] goal hurt me.”
It remained a chastening night for United and Carrick, however, with the head coach coming under criticism from his captain Bruno Fernandes for his tactics in northern Italy.
“I’ve not given my position any thought,” Carrick told a press conference. “It’s [about] the supporters, I was one of them, and I didn’t like what I saw.
"I'm really angry but you've got to move on and deal with what's next and see what that looks like. At this moment in time, there's a lot to do before the next game to get the team ready, because that was a difficult night for everybody.”