📅 October 21, 2026
Como 4-1 Manchester United: Paz Runs Riot as Carrick Says “It Stops With Me”
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That was an embarrassment. Como, playing their first season in the Champions League, beat Manchester United 4-1 in the rain at the Sinigaglia. It could have been worse. Nico Paz scored twice and set up another, United were behind inside two minutes for the second European game running, and Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in stoppage time changed nothing. Sky Sports puts the run at seven games without a win in all competitions.
Michael Carrick didn’t dress it up. “It was more than disappointing,” he told TNT Sports. “I think everybody has got to take responsibility for that. I 100% take responsibility for the overall team and the performance – that’s where it stops. It stops with me and I’m absolutely fine with that.”
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The goals
Paz, 2′. We covered this one at half-time. Sky says Harry Maguire gave him too much space, and he curled it in with his left foot. Opta says no English team had conceded inside two minutes in back-to-back major European games before.
Douvikas, 49′. Carrick changed it at the break, bringing on Amad for Matheus Cunha and Carlos Baleba for Andrey Santos. Four minutes into the second half Paz slid Tasos Douvikas through, and he ran away from Matthijs de Ligt to finish. It was de Ligt’s first start since 30 November 2025.
Paz, 57′. Sky’s report says Paz caught Baleba in possession before scoring Como’s third from the right side of the box.
Ramón, 76′. Jacobo Ramón headed in from close range after substitute Kaiki found him.
Zirkzee, 90+1′. Zirkzee had come on for Bruno Fernandes in the second half and scored from the middle of the box.
What went wrong
The shape we looked at before kick-off never got a grip on Paz. Como’s ten scored the first, made the second and scored the third, and the pair in front of the defence couldn’t pick him up in either half. The changed back four was a problem too. Yoro was suspended, and Martínez, Heaven and Shaw were all missing, so de Ligt came straight in after nearly a year out.
Senne Lammens kept the score down. He saved twice more from Paz in the second half. At the other end, Jean Butez saved from Youri Tielemans and twice from Amad. Santos, Baleba and Shea Lacey were all booked.
Carrick also spoke to the travelling fans, who’d stood through the rain: “I care an unbelievable amount about the supporters. They are the heartbeat of this football club and they always will be. For them to travel, I had to apologise for the performance.”
He was asked whether his players give as much as he does. “I’d like to think so,” he told Sky. “I didn’t like what I saw tonight.”
Next
Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Champions League table is updated as tonight’s results come in.
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Sources: Goals, minutes, substitutions, bookings and saves from ESPN’s match data, cross-checked against Sky Sports and Goal. The winless run from Sky Sports and our own coverage of the previous six games. The Opta record via Goal, theScore and BBC Match of the Day. Como’s first Champions League season from theScore. Carrick’s TNT Sports and supporters quotes from manutd.com and Goal; the “I’d like to think so” answer from Sky Sports. De Ligt’s last start from Sky Sports and our earlier coverage.