COMO — Manchester United were humbled 4-1 by Como in the Champions League in Italy to pile pressure on head coach Michael Carrick, with captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioning his manager's tactics after a wretched performance.
The Portugal attacking midfielder, 32, told TNT Sports: "It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, but sometimes when you give too much the ball to these teams they get confidence." Asked if Carrick got his tactics wrong, he added: "That's on the manager and staff to see it, not me." Carrick replied: "There's a little bit of whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don't run, and you don't run forward, and you don't run back, you aren't going to win."
The outburst drew sharp criticism. Former Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher, working as a summariser on CBS Sports, said: "He's reacted like that because he's been embarrassed by the manager [who] brought him off," adding that Fernandes "runs all over the place like a kid in the schoolyard" and that his display was "an absolute disgrace [and] not what a Manchester United captain should be." Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole on TNT Sports called it "sacrilege", while former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said senior players should keep such debates in the changing room. Kasper Schmeichel said on BBC Radio 5 Live that Fernandes "probably should not be saying these things because it's only going to add to the problems" and that "you need to keep these things in-house."
Fernandes' comments come a week after defender Lisandro Martinez made similar headlines following United's previous Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid, when the Argentine said he expected more investment and "more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox]" before later apologising. United have not won in their past seven games since beating Champions League minnows Sabah and have just one win in their seven Premier League games this season. Andy Mitten, editor of United We Stand, told BBC 5 Live Breakfast that Fernandes has "thrown his coach under the bus" and called it "a terrible look", noting Carrick — who took over in January initially as caretaker — blanked his players at full-time before apologising to the travelling support.
Fernandes has been United's captain for three years and their one consistent outstanding player since a £47m move from Sporting in January 2020 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager, scoring 111 goals and making 106 assists in 338 games for the club in all competitions. The defeat follows Como's 4-1 thrashing of Manchester United which has left Carrick's position under intense scrutiny.