Fernandes turned against the head coach after the defeat
"MU" captain criticized the tactics used by Carrick against "Como", while the coach blamed the players themselves.
Fernandes spoke out against head coach following defeat
In the 3rd round of the UCL group stage, "Manchester United" suffered a heavy away defeat to "Como" — 1:4. After the match, a conflict arose inside the club: team captain Bruno Fernandes openly criticized head coach Michael Carrick's tactical plan and suggested a different approach when playing without the ball.
"United" faced difficulties from the very first minutes of the away match: "Como" midfielder Nico Paz opened the scoring as early as the second minute. After the break, the Italians further extended their lead — Anastasios Douvikas, Paz, and Jacobo Ramón scored in turn. The guests, meanwhile, responded with a single goal by Joshua Zirkzee in the 91st minute.
After the game ended, the situation in the English team's camp escalated. The "MU" captain openly expressed doubt about whether the tactics chosen by the head coach were correct for this match. Substituted in the 67th minute, the Portuguese midfielder was dissatisfied with the decision to abandon man-to-man pressing, which allowed the opponent to move freely with the ball.
"This is not our first match where we start poorly and concede an early goal. When the opponent possesses the ball, we are applying almost no pressure, and when we have the ball, we are not playing with quality either — almost nothing is working. Conceding an early goal makes it feel as though you have already lost. It is difficult to get out of such a situation; taking bold action, controlling the ball, and creating chances also becomes complicated. If we cannot manage this, it will be very difficult to change the situation," Bruno said.
After that, he also expressed his thoughts regarding the coaching staff's decisions.
"Not pressing man-to-man, leaving space for the opponent, and waiting for an opportunity to win the ball back — that was the coaches' decision. But when such teams are given too much freedom, they begin to gain great confidence. This should be evaluated not by me, but by the head coach and his staff. Sometimes you need to act more boldly, take risks, press higher up, and make it uncomfortable for the opponent. Their center-back was already confronting me in the other half of the pitch. We should have done the same, but we failed to do so," TNT Sports quotes his words.
When the journalist asked whether the tactics chosen by Carrick were a direct mistake, the player avoided giving a direct answer, but continued his criticism: "That question is not for me, but for the coach and his staff. Sometimes you need to be bolder; when you are pressed, you have to take risks and apply pressure to make them feel uncomfortable."