The discontent in the squad appears to be growing at pace. Bruno Fernandes became the second player to publicly question the club in an interview following the match at Como as he hit out at Carrick’s tactics, just days after Lisandro Martinez’s outburst in Madrid.
But the animosity between Carrick and his players became increasingly clear mid-match in Italy, as he and Cunha were spotted in the throes of an argument missed by the broadcast cameras.
The Sun’s Samuel Luckhurst wrote the pair “had a relatively robust exchange of views” during a stoppage in play, after which United again lost possession, prompting frustrated ‘cursing’ from Carrick.
Cunha, 27, got the nod on the left flank in Como but was hauled off at half-time having managed one shot and just 27 touches of the ball.
Matheus Cunha was hauled off at half-time as Man Utd lost at Como
AFP/Getty
He has been a fixture since Carrick’s appointment, scoring eight goals and assisting a further six in 26 appearances under him.
Amad Diallo came on in Cunha’s place, but struggled to affect a turnaround as United were played off the park by Cesc Fabregas’ Como.
Cunha was not alone in his frustration either, with Bruno Fernandes also among the players left visibly frustrated by the result.
The mood at United appears to be rapidly deteriorating after the dour start to the campaign, with Carrick now the bookies’ favourite to be the first Premier League manager dismissed this season.
Speaking at full-time, midfielder Youri Tielemans could only apologise to those fans who had made the trip to Italy to watch United’s lakeside embarrassment: “They travel all the way, they don’t want to do this, the only thing we can do now is apologise.
“We can apologise as much as we want, we need to put in the performance on the pitch and at the moment we are not doing that.”