Fernandes blames staff tactics as 10-man United crumble to humiliating 4-1 defeat at Como

Bruno Fernandes publicly challenged Manchester United’s coaching staff over their tactical approach after a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, a result that leaves the club with back-to-back losses in Europe’s premier club competition. Nico Paz scored twice, with Anastasios Douvikas and Jacobo Ramon also on the scoresheet, before Joshua Zirkzee’s 90th-minute strike offered nothing more than a consolation.

Michael Carrick’s Como side made the perfect start, opening the scoring inside the first two minutes, and United never recovered. By the time the fourth goal went in shortly after the 76th minute, a number of travelling supporters had already begun making their way out of the stadium.

Speaking after the match, United captain Fernandes was candid about what he saw as a fundamental tactical misjudgement. “It’s a decision from the staff to not press man to man and sometimes leave a bit of space in behind and then try to get the ball in the first moment,” he told reporters. “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, which makes people get frustrated.”

When pressed on whether the decision not to press had cost United the game, Fernandes was careful to deflect ultimate responsibility while still making his own view clear. “That’s on the manager and the staff to see. That’s not on me. I just said that I think sometimes we have to be more brave on the pressure. Try to take a risk of getting that press very high and making them uncomfortable as they did to us.”

The Portuguese midfielder pointed to Como’s own aggressive pressing as a model United should have mirrored. “Their centre-back was coming to mark me all the way into my own half. I think sometimes we had to do that as a team and we were not really able to do it.”

Fernandes also reflected on the psychological damage of conceding so early, a pattern that has become a recurring problem. “Conceding the goal very early makes us feel going into the game already in a mood for defeat, and it’s very difficult to get out of that at the moment, without being ourselves and trying to push and be brave.”

For Cesc Fabregas, the result represents a landmark evening in Como’s debut Champions League campaign, securing their second win of the group stage in emphatic fashion. For United, the questions around tactics, mentality, and leadership will only grow louder.