Fabregas regrets easing off as Como dismantle Manchester United 4-1 in Champions League debut

Como handed Manchester United a humbling 4-1 defeat in the Champions League on Wednesday, with head coach Cesc Fabregas afterwards confessing his sole regret was telling his players to ease off the tempo late on — a call he said cost his side a cleaner scoreline.

Nico Paz set the tone inside two minutes with a sharp opener, and although United steadied themselves briefly after the early shock, they collapsed after the break. Anastasios Douvikas, Paz again, and Jacobo Ramon all struck to put the Italian side 4-0 ahead with 14 minutes remaining. Substitute Joshua Zirkzee pulled one back in stoppage time, but the damage was already done.

“I regret the last ten minutes because I was the one who told the team to slow down the tempo,” Fabregas said in his post-match press conference. “There’s another match on Saturday and at 4-0 we could manage things a little. I told the players to stop running and stay in the middle, and that is something I regret because I’m the first to always push them to fight until the end. Their goal hurt me because we dropped our intensity and dropped our defensive block, but it was my fault.”

The result marks a significant moment for Como, who are making their Champions League debut this season. Fabregas was candid about the pride he felt in the dressing room, while framing the victory in the context of the club’s broader ambitions.

“We know the history of our club, how much they have suffered over the last many years,” he said. “I’m very happy with how the players applied everything we tried to do — not only in terms of quality, which was high, but also the way we were pressing relentlessly until the 85th minute. We are trying to create a culture at the club, a style of play and an identity. Tonight was another convincing moment for us.”

Fabregas was equally effusive about his players’ performance. “They made me enjoy myself tonight — not so much for the win, for the result, because they played like I like my team to play: with conviction, with quality, with a clear head, with aggressiveness, with a fierce pressing.”

For Manchester United, the evening was a sobering one. Manager Michael Carrick apologised to supporters at full-time and repeated that message in his own press conference, while also questioning the commitment of some of his players. United return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host AFC Bournemouth, with Carrick’s position under growing scrutiny following the result.