Como : Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes criticised the coaching staff's tactical approach, while manager Michael Carrick questioned the players' motivation and intensity following their stunning 4-1 defeat to Como in the UEFA Champions League, with both expressing dissatisfaction over the team's performance, according to Sky Sports.
After United's previous Champions League defeat to Atletico, defender Lisandro Martinez criticised the club's hierarchy, singling out technical director Jason Wilcox over the team's transfer business. Following the loss to Como, Fernandes turned his criticism towards the coaching staff, questioning their tactical approach, particularly the team's pressing strategy.
Speaking to TNT Sports, as per Sky Sports, Fernandes said "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."
He argued that allowing opponents to retain possession could help them gain confidence and leave United's players struggling to regain control of the game.
“But sometimes when you give too much the ball to these teams they get confident, they have so many bodies behind the ball that make you run a lot, make people get frustrated, and then obviously when you recover the ball the legs are, and the brain, much more difficult to make it work,” he said.
Asked whether the tactical approach had contributed to the defeat, Fernandes placed the responsibility on the manager and his staff.
“That's on the manager and on the staff to see it, it's not on me," Fernandes said.
Notably, the defeat extended United's winless run across all competitions to seven games.
Fernandes said United needed to press more aggressively and take risks to put opponents under pressure.
"I just said, I think sometimes we have to be more brave on the pressure, trying to take a risk of getting that press very high and making them uncomfortable - as they did to us," he said further.
Carrick, however, pushed back against the emphasis on tactics, pointing to the players' work rate and defensive effort as key concerns.
"We half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that," he said. "Whatever tactics you play, if you don't run back, you ain't going to win," he said.
The United manager expressed anger at the team's display and said the performance was unacceptable.
"I'm really angry. For us to play in that way is not acceptable," he said.
Carrick said he would review the coaching staff’s decisions but stressed that the players failed to show the required motivation, commitment and intensity, adding that they could not choose when to give their best.
"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. We didn't bring that today. You can't turn it on and off and you can't choose when you want to perform or when you don't want to perform or when you give absolutely everything or when you maybe don't," he said while speaking to TNT Sports, as per Sky Sports.
He later said the manner of the defeat was as concerning as the goals conceded.
"It wasn't just the goals. It was the manner we went about that was the difficult thing to watch. It's not about me right now. The results can come and go, but you've got to do it in a certain way. That wasn't it," he said.
Coming to the match, Como 1907 defeated Manchester United 4-1 at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Wednesday, with Nico Paz scoring twice. Paz opened the scoring in the second minute before Tasos Douvikas made it 2-0 in the 49th minute. Paz added his second in the 57th minute, while Jacobo Ramon headed home Como’s fourth in the 75th minute. Joshua Zirkzee scored a stoppage-time consolation goal for United in the 90+1st minute. The defeat marked United’s second consecutive loss in the Champions League.